You're The One
by HoneywithaB
Summary: A different take on Twilight as a whole. Bella never moved to Forks as a teen, but instead as a young adult. Fate immediately steps in and turns both her and Jacob's worlds completely upside down. Throw Jacob's wife into the mix, and you've got nothing but trouble on your hands...tons of angst lies ahead.
1. Prologue

A/N: First things first, I must absolutely give credit to my wonderfully awesome Beta, Morrigan! Also, I'd like to recognize my great pre-reader Sarah Teague-without you both, there's no telling how this fic would've turned out.

This is my very very very first fic, but I'm excited about it, and I'd love feedback and honest criticism.

Last but not least, I do not own anything associated with the Twilight Series...despite how much I wish I Jacob Black were mine and only mine. *sigh*

I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to drop me some comments when you're done.

"I thought we were being careful!"

Taking a deep calming breath, I glared at him. "Really, Jacob?" 

I wasn't very familiar with 'Angry Jacob'. The tone of his voice, alone, made me want to start bawling on the spot. I think he sensed my fear because his next words came out a tad more calm.

"Bella, are you absolutely sure…" he paused, "you know, are you sure that you're… _pregnant_?"

For the very first time since I'd laid eyes on Jacob Black, I felt like I could've slapped him.

Jacob let out a low growl as I nodded my head in response to his question. I was more than sure. Only a few hours prior, Doctor Remington confirmed the suspicions I'd been harboring for the past week.

"Congratulations, Ms. Swan!" the doctor beamed as he walked back into the examination room.

I swallowed hard, forcing a smile in response to the news. The thought of being a mother for the first time excited me; however, the pain of knowing that the father of my unborn child was married-to another woman-instantly killed my joy. Tears flowed non-stop during my short drive across town from the doctor's office to my bookstore.

I had no idea how I would tell Jacob. I had no idea what was going to happen. On one hand, I knew he'd be happy. He would have to be. I was pregnant with his first child. This would be the baby he'd longed for. On the other hand, I wasn't his wife. I wasn't the woman he said, 'I do' to. I just _happened_ to be the woman he'd slipped up and fell madly in love with.

Unconsciously, I rubbed my still-flat belly where our child was growing.

"How far along are you, Bells?" Jacob asked, forcing me back into the present.

A lump formed in my throat, preventing me from answering immediately.

"Doctor Remington says about six weeks," I replied.

"How long have you known?"

"I went to the clinic this morning…" I stared down at my cup of tea, pretending to be consumed with the words printed on the tag of the tea bag.

"Oh."

_That's all you can say!? _I screamed in my head.

We sat there for several painful minutes without saying much. I stared out the window, absentmindedly taking in the details of all of the local shops in the immediate area. The tension between us was extremely unsettling. Jacob hadn't shown the slightest hint of happiness or excitement. Maybe it was ridiculous of me to believe that he would.

I mean, really, did I expect him to jump for joy? I was _just_ the pregnant mistress.

I could feel his eyes on me, but refused to meet his gaze. He took my hand and held it gently, yet firmly, in his. I found his touch calming, and I glanced up to see his signature smile on full display. That beautiful smile pacified my soul for the moment. His softened expression reassured me that everything would be okay regardless of how messy this situation seemed. _My_ Jacob would make it okay.

"Jake, I –"

The sight before my eyes silenced me midsentence. Immediately, I withdrew my hand from Jacob's hold and tried my best to think of what my next action would be. Conveniently, my mind went blank, and my heart felt like it had dropped from my chest into the seat of my panties.

_Oh my God!_

There was no denying that she'd seen him sweetly holding my hand.

There was no denying that she had rage in her eyes.

And there was absolutely no denying that she was walking straight toward us. The sound of my heart beating in my ears amplified with each step she made closer to the shop's doors.

I wanted to curl into a ball and die when she effortlessly swung open the door and headed straight for the little table where we were sitting. Jacob's expression mirrored mine–-one of sheer and unadulterated horror.

"So when were you going to tell me that your _BITCH_ was pregnant?" she screamed with extra emphasis on the word _bitch_.

I felt like I was going to throw up.

_How did she know I was pregnant? What the hell?_

Jacob stood up, walked closer to her and threw up his hands as if he were trying to surrender.

"Josie, calm down and please watch your language!"

Tears gushed from my eyes, blurring my vision of the scene unfolding before me. Jacob wasn't his usual cool, calm, and collected self. I'd never seen or heard so much frustration and pain coming from him as he tried to reason with Josie.

My father's voice popped in my head, '_Bella, honey, if you ever see a snake, slowly take three steps back and run away as fast as you can_.' If only the instructions he had given me as a child were applicable right then. I wanted nothing more than to escape this volatile situation. I have never done well with drama and violence.

Josie's shouts became more and more pained and tears strangled her speech while Jacob tried to reason with her. It seemed like every sentence she produced had the f-word in it. I silently thanked God that it was late in the evening and I didn't have any customers. I could only imagine what the Forks gossip grapevine would have been like if word had gotten out about Jacob's twisted love triangle blowing up right in the middle of town.

I could hear it now…J_acob went out and got the police chief's daughter pregnant while his poor wife has been wallowing in sadness because of her own inability to conceive. Can you believe that? He always seemed like such a nice guy…_

Jacob snapped me out of my inner thoughts when he put one of his strong hands on my shoulder and barely above a whisper said, "Bells, honey, I need to go. I'll call you as soon as possible."

And just like that, he was gone.

_She_ was gone.

I locked the doors behind them, turned around the 'closed' sign, and sat there for what felt like hours. The shelves upon shelves of novels were my only company.

Josie's words repeated over and over in my mind.

_When were you going to tell me that your bitch was pregnant? _

Tears continued to fall.

I couldn't remember ever being called such an ugly word. Maybe I was a bitch, though. Who falls madly in love with a married man and gets pregnant by him? What kind of a woman does that? What kind of a decent woman actively helps ruin a marriage and feels no kind of serious remorse for it?


	2. A Rude Awakening

_Once again, s/o to my awesome Beta, Morrigan, and my pre-reader Sarah Teague! Keep in mind, I do not own anything associated with the Twilight series in any way, shape, form, or fashion despite my intense desires for Jacob Black. Last but not least, I'd really appreciate any and all feedback, so be a sweetie and drop a comment after you've finished the chapter up. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy..._

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**BPOV**

I'd known Jacob Black since I was a child. Our fathers were best friends. When I would come spend the summers with my dad in Forks, Jacob and I were like two peas in a pod. Every summer we'd spend countless hours together around his home in La Push, the Indian reservation, or at my dad's home.

As small children, we would make mud pies together, and he'd drive me insane when he threw them at me. Jacob would always laugh like it was the funniest thing ever, and I'd run away screaming and threatening to tell his mother. Despite his annoying tendencies, Jacob had an infectious personality that one couldn't help but to be drawn to.

I loved him to death—as a _friend_, of course. Our friendship took no effort. It was just us: Jake and Bells.

When I was fourteen, I stopped my summer visits and didn't see Jacob for another ten years until I moved back to Forks to open up my little bookstore. After I left, my father kept me informed about Jacob and his dad, Billy. Over the years, Jacob and I shared a few brief hi-and-bye types of conversations, but that was about it.

I'd heard that Jake opened up a successful mechanic shop in town. Apparently, he'd become a highly respected member of the Quileute tribe, which was very surprising for his age. Charlie even said that he was expected to become the tribe's chief eventually.

About two years before I moved back, Jacob married a young woman from the rez named Josephine. Charlie questioned Jacob getting married so young, but said that Jacob and Josie seemed to be a very happy couple. I'd intended to send a wedding present but never got around to it.

During my first few weeks back in Forks, I lived at Charlie's while I worked on find my own place. On my first day back, dad invited Jacob and Billy over to welcome me back to town and have dinner with us.

Charlie's fiancé, Sue Clearwater and I prepared a huge dinner. I didn't know her very well but we got along very easily. I loved seeing my father have a lady in his life. He really deserved happiness and she seemed to be perfect for him.

"So, Bella, how does it feel to be back home?" Sue asked while we made the final preparations on the food.

"It'll be a huge adjustment for me, but I really feel like this is where I need to be right now."

I went on to tell her how I felt like I was missing something in Phoenix and how unfulfilled I felt even after earning my bachelor's degree and working with a local publishing company.

"I'm happy that you're back Bella, and I know Charlie's very happy that you're going to be close by. He's talked non-stop about your arrival since you decided to move back." She beamed.

Just as I placed the salad bowl on the dining table I heard chatter and commotion coming from the front door. "Bella, Billy and Jake are here!" Charlie hollered.

When I rounded the corner from the kitchen, my eyes went straight to the man I could only describe as gorgeous. Unconsciously, I fiddled and fluffed my hair. _Chill, Bella, it's just little Jake from the rez_, I told myself. It was litte Jake, all right—except he wasn't so _little_, anymore. I tried not to stare too long at his wonderfully tall frame.

_Boy, did milk do the body good_.

He stood there looking like the epitome of masculinity. I raked my eyes over his body from head to toe and took note of all the nicely bulging muscles that covered it. As a result, a seriously embarrassing blush vigorously fought its way to the surface of my cheeks.

"Wow, Bella, you've grown." Billy said.

His voice brought my head out of the clouds. I reached down to give him a big hug, and he heartily patted my back in response. Billy's genuine welcoming warmth took me back to the days when I was a clumsy fourteen-year-old dork.

When I pulled back from his embrace, he maneuvered his wheel chair into the next room with Sue and Charlie, leaving Jacob and I alone. Immediately, I went back to admiring this Adonis of a man who used to be my scrawny childhood playmate and best friend. I smiled, fantasizing about running my fingers through his perfect raven-colored hair that lay over his shoulders.

Slowly, I gazed up, fully focusing on his face. Although he looked the same—he looked different. My heart practically skipped a beat when he smiled, displaying his perfectly white teeth. I was officially fawning over him.

"So, I guess this lovely lady in front of me is my dear old friend, Bella," he joked, which made me blush even harder.

At that moment our eyes met.

I didn't even have a chance to respond. I immediately wanted to melt into him. My mind begged him to dip me back and kiss me as if both of our lives depended on it. It would be just like the famous WWI photo of the sailor and the nurse in the streets of New York.

Several seconds passed, and our eye contact didn't waver. No words were spoken, and I struggled on the inside to form intelligent thoughts. I'd never felt so warm and comfortable. Even so, it scared the hell out of me too, yet instead of wanting to go run for the hills, all I wanted to do is fall into his arms.

_Or maybe him fall into me, rather_…_?_

"Hey, the food's ready!" Sue shouted from the kitchen, effectively breaking the trance Jacob and I seemed to be stuck in.

_Boy was that weird_…I shrugged.

Unfortunately, dinner was nothing short of awkward.

Jacob wolfed down the food like he hadn't eaten in days and he gave short answers to every single question directed at him. _Maybe I freaked him out. Not good, Bella, not good_. While I tried not to focus too hard on his strange behavior, I couldn't help but to keep sneaking glances at him. Jacob was…sort of beautiful. Long gone was the silly little boy I remembered.

"So, Jacob, how are things with Josie?" Charlie questioned.

I almost choked on a mouthful of lasagna. _How could I have forgotten that Jacob was a married man_? I suddenly lost my appetite as I realized I had been basically eye-raping my old best friend who happened to be married as hell…I assumed happily married at that.

"Good," Jacob said without looking up from his half-finished plate.

Charlie, Sue, and Billy took turns inquiring about my life back in Phoenix, my college experience, and my plans since I was back in Forks. Jacob's discomfort was very evident and undeniable. When he finished his last bite, he quickly stood up and mumbled something about needing to leave and that he'd come back to retrieve Billy later.

**JPOV**

My blood was boiling. I wanted nothing more than to phase and run as far as my legs would carry me, but I quickly scrapped that idea because I couldn't afford to let any of the pack in on my current thoughts. That would be mental suicide-twice over.

_FUCK_!

I had to get away from the Swan's residence immediately. Bella's intoxicating smell had followed me outside and clouded my senses. _Why me? Why now? FUCK_! I huffed and puffed my way into the forest behind Charlie's house. When I was out of general earshot, I kicked a fallen tree as hard as I could, disturbing the peaceful forest. My anger at that moment was indescribable.

My thoughts went back to earlier that day.

Josie's little temper tantrums had become more a routine thing and it was driving me insane. Before I went to work that morning we'd had yet another explosive ass argument. It started out as a rant about me leaving my dirty clothes everywhere and before I knew it, she was screaming at me about our 'issue'. We'd spent countless hours discussing this issue from top to bottom, and I'd grown tired of it.

_Shit…tired is an understatement_.

I'd massaged my temples and tried my best to stay calm while she'd gone on and on. I've always been a cool, calm, and collected kind of dude, but lately, my limits had truly been tested. My days and nights were plagued with worries stemming from my wife and our big 'issue'. She _had_ to constantly remind me of it. Regardless of my frustration, I tried my best to sympathize with her because I loved my wife to pieces, but her antics were driving a wedge between us that was hard to ignore.

After I finally got Josie calmed down, I headed off to work where I spent the majority of my day trying to forget fight we'd gotten into that morning. My efforts went straight to hell, however, when I checked my cell after it buzzed for what seemed like the millionth time in an hour. I wanted to throw it across the room immediately after reading the message on the screen.

_My period came. L I don't know many more months I can deal with this JB. –Josie_

I could count on those types of messages like clockwork. Every single month she'd cry herself into a blubbering mess because she'd gotten her period-meaning there was no chance that she was carrying a little Black.

I sifted through the other messages from her. The last message was from Sue Clearwater.

_Hi, Jacob. Can you bring Billy by Charlie Swan's house this evening 4 dinner? Bella's back in town and I'd like all of us to eat together. Maybe like 7? Let me know, k. Thx._

I smiled thinking about the prospect of seeing my old buddy, Bella. A few weeks before, Billy had mentioned that Bella had decided to move back to Forks. I was happy to hear the news, but I had honestly forgotten all about it.

My Alpha duties for the pack, the garage, the new towing service, council business, my marriage, and duty to my dad had kept me more than swamped. I figured it would be good to spend an evening away from home, anyway. Not to mention that I'd be catching up with Bella.

I hadn't seen her since the last summer she came to visit here. I was fourteen; it crushed me when it was time for her to go. She and I had been two peas in a pod. She was my ace-boon-coon, my partner in crime. We promised to keep in touch but you know how that goes.

Life happens.

We shared a few random phone conversations over the years, but it had been at least two or three years since I'd even spoken to her.

Billy kept me in the loop about the major happenings in her life that he'd heard through Charlie. She seemed to be leading a good life. Billy told me that she'd graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State with a double major: English Literature and Linguistics. He'd mentioned that she did some studying abroad and all that good stuff and that she'd gotten a good job that had to do with publishing or something.

A few minutes later, I messaged Sue back telling her that we'd be there. Thankfully, my worries from earlier became a distant thought while I worked hard for the rest of the day.

"Hey, Quil, I'm headed out. Lock up for me?" I called out to my friend as I left out the back door. I didn't even wait for his response before hopping in my truck and taking off.

When I got home I saw that Josie had left a note on the fridge saying that she and Leah were going shopping in Port Angeles and that she'd be back before it got late. _Thank God she's outta my hair for the time being. Maybe she'll come back in a better mood,_ I thought. I showered, picked up Billy, and headed to Charlie's.

The ride there was pretty uneventful unless you count my dad's incessant jokes about how hard I used to crush on Bella so hard when we were younger.

"You were like a little puppy, son!" he laughed, slapping his knee. "Bella had you wrapped around her little finger and didn't even know it."

"Dad, please!"

He wasn't lying, but still_. _

_ Sheesh_.

"Don't get your bloomers in a bunch, Jake." Billy grinned.

I hoped Sue had cooked plenty because I was starving like a fat kid in an ice cream factory. No matter how damn much I ate, I never felt full. It was a blessing and a curse.

As soon as we walked through the front door, amazing smells attacked me. The food was one, but _fuck_…the other was definitely _not _a food smell.

Charlie yelled, "Bella, Billy and Jake are here!" while we shook hands.

I know my nostrils must have noticeably flared as I took in the smell as it grew stronger-_her_ smell. _Dude. Chill, _I told myself. She came into the entryway and I just knew this couldn't be little Bella Swan. Not my little Bella from back in the day. Well…she was still little…but man! She stood there talking to Billy, but it was all a blur to me.

I was so caught up in her. She smelled so fresh and inviting. I fought the impulse to grab her and sniff her like the dog I _really_ was. I smiled at the thought and continued to take her in while she bent down and hugged Billy.

_Don't peep at her ass. Don't peep at her ass_!

I knew I needed to reign in my wild thoughts but damn…I really didn't expect to see Bella like this. She had definitely come into her own over the years. Her body was perfect, and she had hips for days. I'm not sure why I noticed her hips like I did, but they were so feminine and appealing. They weren't too big, but they were damn sure perfect.

_Perfect for me to hold.._._perfect childbearing hips_…

Billy rolled himself into the other room with Charlie and Sue leaving Bella and me alone at the front door.

I cleared my throat, "So, I guess this lovely lady in front of me is my dear old friend Bella."

_Smooth, Black. REAL fuckin' smooth_…I chastised myself.

I cracked a smile at her and tried to think tangible thoughts, but words failed me. She smiled at her feet, and lifted her head up enough for my gaze to meet hers.

At that moment, gravity shifted. Our eyes locked and I felt like every fiber of my being snapped. The ties that bound me to Earth violently jostled and broke, immediately binding to her. I gasped, feeling more alive than I ever before.

I had imprinted on Bella Swan.

After all these years since my first phase…I had imprinted. Every other pack member, with the exception of Leah, had imprinted years ago, even though imprinting was supposed to be such a rarity.

Sue yelled about the food being ready causing us to snap out of the haze that the imprint had forced upon us.

_Damn…wonder if she felt that_?

Within seconds of breaking eye contact, torment and resentment washed over me.

I HAD A WIFE AT HOME!

Why now? Why me? This could not have been happening.

I tried my best to withdraw myself from the dinner. My wolf fought inside, which made me want to go crazy over Bella right that moment-even if it meant the whole dinner table had to watch while I kissed her and fucked her with every ounce of effort I could muster. I avoided looking at her, or even in her direction, because I knew that the battle within would become damn near impossible.

I'd done my best to avoid conversation. Charlie asked about Josie, and honestly, I couldn't find much to say, regardless of the fact that I had just imprinted on his daughter less than ten minutes before. I briefly glanced up and saw Bella staring at me with a slight smile, her big brown eyes were glossy and bright. She looked insanely beautiful and her facial expression instantly reminded me of all of the other imprints in the pack. _FUCK_! She didn't know the slightest thing about imprinting or even us wolves for that matter, but there was no denying that the force was working on her overtime.

After I finished my food, I quickly said, "Hey, everybody I need to head out for a while and take care of some business with the garage. See ya." I said it so quickly that all the words were jumbled but I needed to escape Charlie's house before I went crazy. I knew it was rude to leave like that, but I'd apologize later. My wolf clawed its way closer to the surface of my being as I walked further and further from Bella.

Away from Bella.

Away from my imprint.


	3. Only a Matter of Heaven & Hell

_A/N: I started writing this fic several months ago, but became discouraged about posting it. Thankfully, I got the inspiration that I needed and went for it. This is my very first time writing fic of any kind, but I hope you enjoy it! Please be a sweetie and leave a review after you're done...I'd greatly appreciate it. Also, S/O to my Beta, Morrigan, and my pre-reader, Sarah Teague-you both helped me out tremendously!_

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**Josie's POV**

Leah and I arrived home from Port Angeles about eight o'clock in the evening. It was a little later than I'd intended and I hoped Jay wouldn't mind too much, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't. He hadn't even thought to send me a text message to let me know that he'd seen the note I had taped on the fridge.

_Maybe he's at the garage late tonight._

I sighed and trudged into the house. It was dark and I knew Jay wasn't home since his truck was gone. It had been a long day and I desperately wanted to cuddle up with my husband and fall into a deep sleep.

Just as I was about to call Jay's cell, I noticed a sticky note on the T.V. In the chicken scratch scrawl he called handwriting: _Dad and I are having dinner Charlie Swan's house this evening. I won't be late_.

Even though it really wasn't _that_ late, I decided to give Jacob a call, anyway. I wanted him home. I called his cell phone four times back-to-back with no answer. Then I called again. And again. And again.

Maybe that was overkill, but he was supposed to answer! When I noticed it was going on ten, I decided to check with Billy to see if Jacob was there. It was past time for my husband to be home.

On the fifth ring, someone picked up.

_'Hi, this is the Black's residence. Bella speaking_.'

I coughed at the name. _What in the hell is she doing at Billy's house_? I flashed back to the conversation Leah and I recently had all about little Miss Bella Swan. Leah hated her with a passion and after she told me all about Jake's old borderline obsession with Bella…I did, too.

The conversation had come up at random, and I'm glad that it did. I needed to be in the know, especially since Bella was moving back in the area. Jacob never really told me much about Bella except that she was Chief Swan's daughter who used to come visit all the time and that they played together a lot as kids.

Leah had told me how Jacob was basically in love with her and how she was forced to hear tons of uninvited thoughts about Bella when she used to phase with the pack. I wanted to puke when she went into detail about all of his teenage sexual fantasies about her and how he'd pined over her like a lovesick idiot for a long time after she left for the last time when he was like 15.

I cleared my throat again and said, "Umm. Yeah. This is Jacob's wife, Josie. Is he there?"

_'Hold on a sec. I'll let you speak with Billy_.'

Billy told me that Jacob should be at the garage and maybe he didn't have his phone on him. He assured me that Jacob would be home any minute before hanging up. My mind went back to Bella. I kept questioning why was she over there and why was she answering Billy's phone. She didn't need to be near my husband, or my father-in-law as far as I was concerned. _Hmph_!

After trying Jacob's cell another five times with no answer, I decided to call to Leah. If he wasn't home by midnight I'd call Quil and Embry. Someone had to know where the hell he was.

**BPOV**

I really didn't feel good. I wasn't sure what it was, but I felt kind of…off. I'd begun to feel bad not long after dinner. There wasn't any particular ache or pain that I could pinpoint like a stomachache or headache. I just felt under the weather.

Charlie, Billy, Sue, and I sat around having a great conversation for a couple of hours. I filled them in on my plans for opening a bookstore in Forks sometime in the near future, and everyone threw support in my direction. I genuinely appreciated it.

"So, how's the love life?" Sue smirked.

"Umm…" I paused awkwardly. "Not much to share, really. I haven't had a serious boyfriend in a couple of years."

"I always thought my son would be the one to snap you up..." Billy said with an added laugh. He made it out to be a joke, but it was obvious he was serious.

_I would have loved for his fine ass to snap me_…

I forced the thought out of my mind before it fully formed.

"I'm sure the right man will come along one of these days," I said with a forced smile. I was less than enthusiastic to talk about my love life, and I couldn't wait until we moved on.

Somehow, Jacob kept forcing his way into my thoughts. His being plagued my mind that entire evening. Multiple times I had to fight off the feeling to blush. As soon as I would get it under control, I'd think about something else concerning Jacob-–like his hair and how it perfectly framed his broad shoulders-—I was dealing with a serious tug-of-war of the mind.

When Jake never turned back up to take Billy home, I decided I'd drive him back to La Push before it got too late. It was the least I could do. Charlie helped him into my car and we took off. Billy and I talked the during the entire car ride. He updated me on general happenings on the rez like who married who, who lived where, etcetera. It was a pleasant ride, and thankfully I didn't think about Jacob as intensely as I had been.

_I mean, he's married now, for Christ's sake_.

Billy phoned Embry Call and asked for help from my car and back into the house. Somewhat surprisingly, the little red house was just as I had remembered it from my childhood. Embry was waiting for us when I turned into the driveway and before I could turn off the engine, he had scooped me out of the front seat to give me a tight hug.

"Wow, Bella you're back!" he said as he released me and looked me up and down.

_What in the world did they put in this La Push water_?

Embry was huge compared to the little lanky dork I remembered. He was almost as tall as Jacob, maybe six foot four or five, and ripped up just the same. He helped Billy into the house and explained that he couldn't stay long because he needed to help his wife put their new baby to sleep. We hugged goodbye again and he was on his way.

_Times have really changed_, I thought to myself.

I was in the kitchen pouring some water for Billy when the phone rang.

"Bella, answer that will ya."

I felt kind of odd answering the phone at someone else's home, but it had already rung several times.

"Hi, this is the Black's residence. Bella speaking," I said.

There was a long pause before a woman responded. It was Jacob's wife. Apparently he hadn't come home and she was looking for him. She definitely didn't sound too happy, but who could blame her?I wouldn't be too happy about my husband being out late. Especially if he was as hot as Jacob Black…

I handed Billy the phone and quickly readied myself to leave. Hearing her voice made me feel guilty for all of the thoughts I'd been having about Jacob. My stomach twisted into knots. _Noooo bueno_.

I told Billy goodnight and locked him in tight. As I was reaching for the handle to my Prius, I had an eerie feeling that I was being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck raised and a tiny shiver ran through me as I turned around for a quick survey of my surroundings but saw nothing. _Thank God_. I opened the door to get in, but my hand was grabbed. I swung around quickly, ready to let out a good scream but was relieved to see that it was only Jacob.

"Hey, everybody's been wondering what happened to you. Are you-" his next actions cut off my speech mid-sentence.

He touched my cheek and stroked it softly while looking into eyes. Just as I had felt earlier, I wanted to melt into him. His hand was very large and calloused, but with every stroke of my cheek, he soothed my soul. Ropes of lust had begun to entangle me tight, and my legs were weakening by the second. I'd never reacted in such a way to a touch like that in my life.

Jacob didn't say a word. Neither did I. No words needed to be spoken.

Thunder cracked in the sky above us; a storm sounded imminent. I don't know how long we stood there with our eyes glued on each other. I didn't even notice when he placed his other hand on my hip and brought us closer to each other. Our bodies were oh so very close but not quite touching. It felt like little sparks of electricity were dancing between the small space of air separating us. I was unequivocally lost in him in those moments.

"Jake…" I paused. Speech was not my strong suit at that time.

What were we doing? More importantly…what was he doing? Jacob and I hadn't seen each other in over ten years, and it definitely _wasn't_ a romantic thing between us back in the day. All of a sudden it was as if I had rediscovered a long lost love. I felt drawn to him like I had never been drawn before-not to him or anyone else for that matter. I felt conflicted, but I was so entranced within him at that moment, I couldn't even focus on logical thoughts.

"I need to go," Jacob coughed.

He sounded uncomfortable. Pained, even…

Light raindrops started to fall. Despite how much I wanted him to stay, I realized it really was best that we went our separate ways. I hoped that we'd just acted like this whole little episode had never happened at all.

Right as I turned to get into my car, he grabbed my wrist again. Instantly, I was facing him. Both of his hands snapped onto my hips and pulled me close. We were closer than before, but still not explicitly touching. I looked up at him in the dim light of the night and without words we were enraptured in each other's unwavering gaze. It was as if he was trying to silently communicate with me. His eyes were filled with pure and unmistakable desperation.

I blushed in response to the perfect smile he flashed me. The scene seemingly unfolded in slow motion. Jacob slouched down, and slowly dipped his head down closer to my face.

_Is he trying to kiss me? Oh God, he is trying to kiss me_!

Jacob's grip on my hips became a little tighter, although not uncomfortably tight. The warmth of his hands was unreal. I tried my best to break through the haze that settled in my brain, but came up empty.

Without conscious thought, I gradually pushed myself onto my tippy-toes to meet Jacob as he leaned down closer. Our movement was so natural, and sparks of anticipation tingled on my lips. I looked at his beautifully full lips, closed my eyes, and evenly exhaled. My heart was beating so hard in my ears that it felt like it would hammer its way through my skull at any moment. Butterflies fluttered insanely in my stomach.

Jacob closed the gap between us and ever so lightly placed his lips upon mine.

_Like a moth to a flame burned by the fire_…

Our lips began to dance together as if we'd done this a million times. So many sensations coursed through my body at once, sending my moral compass spinning out of control. The taste of his tongue and lips were distinctly amazing, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer to me. Our hips brushed against each other's and with his arms encircling me, I felt wrapped up in the warmest most secure embrace that I'd ever experienced.

I savored every second and as soon as our lips broke contact, I wanted more. Jacob held me tight and stroked my hair with his free hand as I came down from the high he had created within me. All I could think was_ WOW_.

"Bella, I need to go," he whispered in my ear.

Tingles shot up and down my spine when I felt his warm breath licked my ear. Instinctively I bucked my hips at him and groaned. I didn't want him to leave me.

He gave me a gentle peck on the forehead after we were fully detached from each other. As quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone.

I was in a daze as I drove back to my dad's house, my mind on autopilot. It felt like one minute I was in Billy's driveway and the next I was pulling into Charlie's. I was consumed with all things Jacob Black.

I couldn't deny how insane it seemed that Jacob and I had gone from being practically strangers to kissing like long time lovers in the matter of only a few hours. Not to mention that he and I had barely shared any words since meeting in the foyer at Charlie's. Visions of the kiss we'd shared quickly caused me to drop my skepticism, however.

Charlie and Sue had already gone to bed when I got back, and boy, was I glad. I quickly showered, got in bed, and replayed that kiss until I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**JPOV**

Have you ever heard the expression, "You have to go through hell to get to Heaven"?

The night I imprinted on Bella was the total opposite. I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven when I kissed her for the first time.

Looking back, I know it was incredibly stupid to give in to the urge to touch her. We hadn't even exchanged more than a few words since getting reacquainted. Even worse, I kissed her out in the open in my dad's yard! Anybody could have rolled up. Hell, for all I know, he was watching from the window. My old man always had a habit of being extra nosey, so I can't even say I'd be surprised if he was. To say I'd lost my mind was the understatement of the century.

After storming out of Charlie's, I'd walked around the forest aimlessly. I had to suppress the urge to phase so many times that I lost count. The need to give into my wolf was strong, but there was no way that I could possibly block my thoughts from the pack. I was too mentally exhausted.

My cell rang so many times, but I was lost in a steady stream of thoughts involving Bella and the imprint. When I finally pulled it out, there were ten missed calls from home in addition to several text messages from Josie questioning my whereabouts. I usually never ignored her, but I was honestly too repulsed to hear her voice. I knew she was angry as hell that I didn't pick up on the very first call. For all I know, she didn't even see the note I left for her.

Eventually, I decided I needed to head on home before she sent out the official La Push search party aka my best friends, Quil and Embry. It was rare that I didn't return Josie's calls, but the few times that I hadn't she'd went off of the deep end.

Before going home to face the music, I figured that I'd better check in on Billy to make sure that he'd gotten home safely. I assumed that Sue or Charlie drove him back to La Push since I'd never turned up. I hated to leave him, but I knew that if I went back I wouldn't be able to avoid Bella. If I saw Bella I was liable to grab her and do God knows what.

She smelled so damned good. She was so beautiful. She was everything I could have ever desired, and my wolf wanted—no, needed–to have her in any and every way possible.

Within a few hundred yards of Billy's house, I paused and drew in an extra deep breath-so deep that it kinda burned. Her intoxicating smell sparked my senses, and I took in more deep breaths. Mindlessly, I walked in the direction of her smell. When I came upon the clearing, I noticed her little black Toyota parked out front.

I stood in the cover of darkness and watched her as she came out the house.

_Bella must've brought Billy home. _

"Goodnight, Billy. See ya later," she called out to him as she closed the door behind herself. Without thinking, I walked even closer to the house.

Bella paused at the car door and turned around giving a good once over of her surroundings. I could faintly smell fear emanating off of her.

_Maybe she can sense my presence_.

I glanced up at the night sky and noticed how quickly the clouds were moving. _A storm's coming,_ I noted. I wanted to run over to Bella and hold her tight and never let go. I wanted to kiss her and touch her hair. I wanted to inhale her smell until it drove me crazy and then some.

She opened her car door to get in and before I knew it, I was grabbing her hand.

_Ok, I'm officially acting like a creep_.

She spun around and looked like she was prepared to scream bloody murder.

"Hey, everybody's been wondering what happened to you! Are you-" she sputtered.

My mind was clouded by the sound of her heartbeat and her natural scent. I reached out and gently stroked her cheek, which really sent her heart into overdrive. My heart even fluttered like crazy when we locked eyes.

She was so beautiful and so small. I had an undying urge to be closer to her and nothing could have happened at that moment to stop me. Charlie's shotgun probably couldn't have even stopped me.

I smiled. She smiled. We smiled.

It felt like an electric charge existed between us. The feeling made me want to slam her against that little rice burner car of hers and kiss every single bit of her from head to toe.

I took a few deep breaths. I really needed to get a grip and control myself. I had a wife at home—an extremely pissed off wife—who had no idea where I was or what I was doing.

It took so much out of me to utter, "I need to go."

I tried my best to walk away but I couldn't let her go. My wolf sent raw aggression surging through my veins. I didn't even contemplate the consequences in my mind before I grabbed those lovely hips of hers and leaned down for a kiss. She tipped herself up and almost immediately our lips were touching. It felt like she was made just for me. I felt more alive than ever during those moments.

Our heads twisted and turned feverishly and our tongues did the same. Her lips were pillow soft; they were the softest lips I'd ever touched. I was so distracted by them that I didn't even notice that her body was smashed against mine and she was lightly grinding her hips into me.

I was in Heaven.

I pulled away from the kiss because my head had started swimming. The smell of her arousal was attacking me and if I didn't get away from her, I would've either thrown her on the hood of that Prius and fucked her senseless or phased right there on the spot. Neither option was appropriate, obviously. My dick was at full attention and it strained so hard against my jeans that it hurt.

I had to get away.

I continued to hold her in my arms and stroke her hair. In those few seconds, visions of Bella and I kissing, getting married, and having little Blacks of our own flashed through my head.

_This imprint business has turned me into a lovesick lunatic overnight_, I thought to myself.

Bella trembled in my arms when I whispered that I needed to go. I wanted to kiss her more and stroke her silky hair…_and everything else_. I kissed her on the forehead and walked away. With each step I took, I felt more and more crushed knowing that I was going to be away from her. It felt like a ton of bricks had been dumped on my shoulders. I hung my head and continued into the darkness.

I trudged on home, and that's when the hell began. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew that there was no way that Josie had gone to bed. I heard her let out a deep sigh when I stepped onto the porch. She'd obviously heard me and she was seething.

I braced myself for the hurricane of negative emotions and insults that Josie was about to throw at me. _She'll probably kill me if she had any idea what was really going on_. I took a deep breath and walked in, instantly meeting two angry eyes penetrating mine as if she was trying to read my mind.

Josie began screaming before I could even get any words out.

"Jacob Ephraim Black!"

"Where have you been? I've called you repeatedly and you've ignored me! This is not like you! What the hell is going on?"

I hung my head and massaged my temples. I understood her concern but I didn't have the will to put up a fight, especially after that huge argument that we'd had just this morning.

"Jacob it's after midnight. You didn't think I would be worried?"

"Where were you? I called the garage and Quil said you were not there. I even sent Embry to look for you but he said he couldn't find you. You couldn't even take a moment to drop me a message?"

She threw out a thousand questions at me back to back. "Josie, can we talk later. I've had a long day. I just need a little peace." I gave her pleading eyes.

"Hell no!" she raised her voice even louder.

The sound of a wolf howling in the distance stole my attention away from the ensuing chaos. I cut her off and said, "Josie, that's one of the pack. I need to go now…it's probably urgent."

Josie frowned at me, giving me the death stare, and blew out a long harsh breath. _I have really stepped in it now_. I tried my best to reason with her for a minute or two more but when the howl repeated twice, I knew I needed to go.

I ran outside, stripped my clothes, and phased immediately. As soon as my four paws hit the ground, I knew that I had officially made my way into Hell.

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_A/N: A few things you may have questions about...Firstly, there will be no Cullens in this fic-none. They did come around and lived in Forks for a few years during Jake's teen years, just as in the books, but they've been gone for a while. So, no Cullens, no Edward...no shade to old Eddie boy, he's just not in this story. Secondly, yes, Jake has long hair in this fic. In my Twilight universe, hair length doesn't influence the length of the wolf's fur, so Jake never cut his hair. I always loved Jacob with long hair! :-) Stay tuned because this is only the beginning of this ride!_

_Oh, and one last thing...please leave an honest review, and I'll respond personally to each and every one. I really appreciate it!_


	4. A Deer With No Eyes

_I hadn't intended on uploading another chapter this quick, but figured I'd go ahead. This one is rather short, but I hope you enjoy it. There's definitely much more to come. Oh, and just a reminder: My name isn't Stephanie Meyer, I don't own the Twilight series in any way, shape, form, or fashion. These are her characters, and not mine; however, if they were, I'd be too busy with my own Jacob Black and not writing fanfic. Okay? _

_Lastly, please be a sweetie and leave a review. I'll truly appreciate it._

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**BPOV**

Two days had passed since the incident between Jacob and I. Sadly, I hadn't heard from him since. I wasn't necessarily surprised by that fact, however. Obviously, we had both been overcome with some strange emotions and acted on some really inane impulses. That's all it was.

_Now I just need to convince myself of that…_

I thought about him non-stop, which was strange since I'd never been the type to obsess over a man. It took so much effort for me not to just call Billy to ask a random question so that I could casually inquire about how Jacob was doing. It had been a long forty-eight hours for me, but I knew that I needed to rid myself of all of the thoughts, fantasies, and feelings I was having concerning Jacob Black.

On the third day, I spent the majority of the morning and afternoon on the Internet looking at apartments and rental homes in the area, until sometime during mid-afternoon, the phone rang, which forced me to take a break. I reluctantly shuffled to the kitchen to pick it up.

"Hi. Swan's residence. This is Bella."

_'What's up, Bella? Err…this is Quil. You know, Quil Ataera from La Push…Jacob's friend. Remember me?'_

"Of course, I remember you, Quil! How are you?" The question should've been more like _what in the world are you calling here for…?_

_'I'm awesome_.' He paused for a few uncomfortable seconds.

"That's good to hear, Quil…" I paused, unsure what to say and where the conversation was headed.

_'Look, Bella – I'm gonna cut to the chase. I know someone that needs to talk to you like…right now. Can come into town to the garage_?'

For a moment I felt sort of lost as to who this someone was or what garage until a light bulb went off in my head. Charlie had mentioned something about _Jacob_ owning a car repair shop. _Hmm_… My heart began to thump in my chest at the mere thought him.

"Umm…" was all I could muster up.

_'Come down here after six. He'll be waiting for you.'_

There was a sense of urgency in Quil's voice.

Before he hung up, Quil gave me the address to the garage. I glanced at the time and it was a little after three. That meant I had three whole hours to decide whether or not I'd make a move to meet Jacob. I couldn't even concentrate on my housing search. My mind was clouded with thoughts of the phone call.

As I weighed my options, I questioned why Jacob didn't call me, himself.

I wondered why in the world he wanted me to meet him and what did he want to talk about. I genuinely didn't know what I wanted to do. Part of me insisted that I needed to act like the call never happened and just avoid Jacob altogether. The other part of me wanted so badly to respond to his request without question.

_I should've just asked to speak with Jacob when Quil called_.

I was a ball of nervous energy by five o'clock. Around five-thirty, I found myself messing with my hair and trying to brush it into submission. Extra grooming wasn't really my nature, and feelings of apprehensive anticipation covered me like a wet blanket.

A few minutes after six, I was parked outside of the garage, and everything appeared to be closed for the day.

This was my last chance to flee.

**JPOV**

The moment I saw Bella outside, I had to force myself not to run over, grab her, and swing her around in the tightest hug ever. Her naturally heavenly scent was laced with some type of exotic fruit smell. I usually never paid attention to small details but I couldn't help but to notice so many random little things about her as she walked toward the garage.

Her hair blew in the wind with strands of reddish brown highlights shining in the sunlight. I opened the door for her and welcomed her inside. It wasn't much, but I was damn proud of it. I shoved my hands in my pockets in order to force myself not to embrace her.

_Definitely don't wanna scare her off_.

"Hi, Jake," she said, her voice spiked with nervous energy.

"I'm glad you came."

I smiled in an attempt to ease her nerves.

We stood in the main area kind of awkwardly. Bella didn't make an effort to make much eye contact with me, and she stood further away than I expected. The tension between us was thicker than day old oatmeal.

"Hey, wanna hear a joke?" I grinned.

"Uhh…yeah. Sure."

She raised her eyebrow at me, questioningly.

"What do you call a deer with no eyes?"

She looked at me uneasily and thought about it for a few seconds.

"Umm… I don't know, tell me."

"I have no EYE deer!"

She giggled lightly.

"What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs?"

She looked at me, expectantly waiting for the answer.

"I _still_ have no EYE deer!" I joked.

The tension that had been radiating off her body seemed to wane. I invited her into my little office in the rear of the shop where she took a seat on the couch and I sat opposite of her on the edge of my desk.

I tried my best not to lose my nerve. "I know you're wondering why I had Quil call you here."

Bella looked up at me with an unreadable expression. I waited for her to say something, but words never came.

"Maybe, I should start at the beginning…"


	5. KissesDown Below

_A/N: First things first-I must acknowledge my wonderful Beta, Morrigan, for all the help she lent me during the writing process of this! Also, tons of hugs for my pre-reader, Sarah Teague. Be prepared, because things are definitely going to get amped up a little in this chapter, not only that, but this chapter (which happens to be very long) will also give some background info. that may answer some questions that have started to come up._

_Keep in mind, this is my very first fic writing adventure-in LIFE, so it's a big learning experience for me. I'd truly appreciate it if you left an honest review once you're done reading. I hope you enjoy._

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**JPOV**

All day, I'd been rehearsed in my head how this conversation was going to go, but when the time came, I was only drawing blanks. It had been three days since I had imprinted…three nights since I had kissed Bella Swan. Finding an imprint was supposed to be an awesome event, but in the days following my imprinting, I'd found myself living a hellish existence.

When one of the wolves started howling his head off, I'd phased without reservation. If I thought the situation with Josie was bad, I had really stepped into some deep shit.

I ran as fast as my four legs could carry me toward the source of the howling. There were two other wolves phased with me, Quil and Embry. _Fuck my life_. Although thoughts of Bella were in the back of my mind, they were quickly forced out into the open.

Quil growled, _Dude, you need to tell me what the fuck is going on like, RIGHT NOW_!

_Shouldn't you be the one providing me some answers!? All of that extreme ass howling and I don't see any danger._

I was definitely peeved. Now was not the time for bullshit jokes.

By then, I was deep in the cover of the forest. Quil, Embry, and I stood in a circular formation. They both glared at me. I thought I was doing a good job of blocking my thoughts, until all of a sudden, my head was filled with images of Bella and I kissing in Billy's driveway, Bella grinding her hips into me…me stroking her hair.

_Explain that shit, dude! _Quil demanded_._

Embry jumped in, _Josie's gonna shit a brick_!

That's when I realized that Quil had been in wolf form watching everything that happened between Bella and me. He'd seen it all. It was his thoughts that were being shared through the pack mind-not mine. I tightened my jaw and suppressed an angry growl. My mind was racing a mile a minute.

I'd gotten too angry to shield my thoughts, and everything that happened between Bella and I exploded into their heads. Everything from her lovely natural scent, to the way her hips called to me, to the moment we locked eyes.

_So…now what_? Embry questioned.

_I always knew this was going to happen_, Quil laughed.

_Cut it out! This shit is not funny_.

I could tell that Embry was trying to hide his thoughts from me, but I caught wind of them anyway.

_Fuck…how am I gonna keep this away from Dana_?

Dana was Embry's wife and Josie's first cousin. There was so much commotion coming from their minds and all of it was directed at me. It was giving me a headache, and this was exactly why I had avoided phasing earlier.

There were too many questions and accusations being thrown in my direction. I tried my best to stay calm, but my wolf wanted so badly to exercise full dominance upon them. The only thing that probably spared them was the fact that they were my best friends. If it had been Paul and Jared, I would have been in mega ass-whooping mode, for sure.

_Look, I need to go home to Josie. For the record, I haven't told her, and I won't be telling her. She has always worried about me imprinting and we already have huge issues. _

Quil dug at the earth and shook his head. _Jacob you gotta do something, man. It's gonna kill you to be without Bella. _

_Josie's gonna kill him_. Embry said in a way to try to lighten the mood, but he only pissed me off more. _But the way that Bella's __**grown**__ up…it just might be worth it_, Embry continued to joke.

At that moment, I knew that I'd have to do something that I really didn't want to. I gave them an Alpha order not to mention anything concerning Bella to anyone, not to think about Bella and I when phased, and not to tell Josie about anything.

All three of us sulked away as we separated. On my way home, I phased back so I would be able to think without others hearing. Today had been one of my worst days ever, not to mention that I still had to go home and deal with Josie.

For the next several nights, I was forced to sleep on the couch.

Bella brought me out of my thoughts when she exaggeratedly cleared her throat.

Lowering my head, I said, "Sorry about that, Bells…"

"It's okay, just start at the beginning, like you said."

So I began…

I went back to the real beginning. I recalled several fond memories I had of her from when we were kids like the time we'd gotten lost in the woods behind my house, and how I promised to take care of her, even though I was only like five at the time.

Then I told her my personal thoughts on that last summer she'd spent in Forks. I explained to her how I'd developed deep feelings for her over the course of that summer, and it was something I'd never forgotten. I _didn't_ use the word '_love_', but I really did fall in love with her that summer. Eventually, I had to pushed my feelings into the darkest depths of my mind, and lock them away because I knew that nothing would ever come of it.

She listened intently and nodded her head to certain things. Bella had always been a good listener.

I continued to tell her that when I saw her at Charlie's a few days before, those feelings emerged without warning. Okay, it was more like I looked her in the eyes and…_BAM_!

I knew that I couldn't tell her the whole truth. I wasn't ready to explain to her that from age sixteen I turned into a humongous hairy wolf straight from the pages of mythical fairy-tales and that when I locked eyes with her, we became connected by a magical force that would keep me bound to her forever. That was a sure shot way to Creepville, USA.

"Jacob, I don't know what it is…it's just…weird. You feel so familiar, even after all this time. I feel so drawn to you that it's just downright scary."

_She feels the imprint_.

I guess my dad was right when he once told me that the Alpha's imprint was the strongest of them all.

"Honestly…I never thought of you in a romantic way when we were younger. I saw you as silly Jacob. You know…you were my best friend. You were like my rock. A funny rock at that…" she ended with a giggle.

At that moment, Bella's smile melted my heart. We continued to share thoughts on experiences and happenings between the two of us for over an hour. We laughed until it hurt, and it felt just like old times.

This was the first time in the past three days that I felt good. Her presence soothed my soul. Her voice calmed my mind. Bella was…perfect.

One hour became two, and two became three. The time passed quickly. Eventually, I'd made my way onto the couch with her. I sat close but not quite touching her. That's definitely what I wanted to do…_and more._

The ringing of my cell phone interrupted us, and I had a good idea who it was-especially considering it was going on nine o'clock. _Shit_! I pulled it out, careful to tilt the screen out of Bella's view, and Josie's smiling face greeted me.

I quickly pressed 'decline' and sent her a message saying that I was still at the garage. I knew she'd assume that I was working on a car, even though I didn't explicitly say it.

My mood plummeted.

Her phone call brought me back to reality.

I had a wife at home…

I think Bella could sense my discomfort, because she began to shift nervously on the couch.

"Your wife…?"

Unable to find the will to give voice to my thoughts, I took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as I looked into her eyes.

She rose to her feet and mumbled, "I think I should be going."

**BPOV**

Spending time with Jacob was so…refreshing. Feelings of nostalgia danced through my head while he shared stories from our childhood. I was honestly taken aback when he told me that he'd had romantic feelings for me when we were teenagers.

Looking back, I realized that maybe I was just blind at the time. I never gave it much thought when he used to hold my hand, stroke my hair, etc. It wasn't unusual for us to cuddle together while we watched movies, or for him to kiss me on the cheek when we parted ways. Now I know that the affection he showered me with probably weren't innocent friendly gestures at all.

Time passed quickly while we continued to share stories and spent time catching up. Before I knew it, two hours had passed. We were having such a good time we didn't even realize how late it was getting. I thought about asking him what time he planned on leaving, but I didn't want to give him the false impression that I was trying to get rid of him or something.

Around nine, his cell phone began ringing. For the first time that evening, I thought about his wife. He didn't answer, but after he looked at the screen, his frown told it all.

A picture of a woman I'd seen at Billy's the other night flashed in my mind. It was probably _her_. Jacob wasn't in the picture with her, but something deep down told me that it was his wife. Her loving smile and big doe eyes were burned in my mind.

The interruption left me feeling uneasy, and I knew I needed to go. Jacob immediately protested when I stood up to leave, and I fought back tears. I most definitely didn't want to start the waterworks in front of him.

"Bella…" he called after me, his tone soothing.

I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I felt like an emotional idiot for standing in Jacob's office crying. I wasn't even sure why I was crying. Without question, he pulled me in his strong arms and held me close. I laid my head on his firm chest, hiccupping through tears like a small child.

"Shhh, honey…it's okay," he whispered, stroking my hair.

My body quaked a little.

"Jacob, umm…yeah…just a little too tight." I coughed, "Can't breathe."

Jacob loosened his hold and ran his hands up and down my back. With the passing seconds, I felt better. His embrace was so incredibly warm, and I felt like I was at home in his arms.

"Bells, honey, look at me."

He tilted up my chin to meet his gaze.

"I know this feels crazy for you. It feels crazy for me, too…" he paused and sighed. "Just…just let me hold you."

I could see pure sincerity in his beautifully dark eyes. Moments later, I found myself tipping up closer to his face. No words were spoken. Our movements were natural and unhurried. Jacob closed the remaining gap between us, pressing his lips onto mine as we began to kiss passionately.

I parted his lips with my tongue and entered cautiously. We savored each other like the world could end at any moment. Not breaking the kiss, he slowly backed me up toward the couch, and I allowed him to ease me down onto it without protest.

I nipped gently on his lower lip, and he responded by doing the same to mine. My heart was beating in overdrive, and our kissing became increasingly aggressive. I wanted—no needed—to have more of Jacob like my life depended on it.

Soon, I was fully on my back, and Jacob was positioned on top. He held up his weight on his elbows, and threaded his fingers within my hair while we continued to kiss.

I slid off the rubber band that secured his ponytail, and when freed, Jacob's hair flowed over his shoulders and framed his face perfectly. He paused and stared into my eyes before he began to kiss me with renewed effort.

Intense tingling sensations down my spine, making me weak as he pushed back my hair and breathed lightly into my ear. Unconsciously, I thrust my hips up at him, and my thighs brushed against his bulging manhood.

I gasped.

_I guess muscles aren't the only BIG THING Jacob has._

_Wow! _

_Did I really just think that_?

Jacob groaned and thrust himself harder against me. Delicious warmth settled between my thighs and simmered. He brushed his lips against my neck and began to suck gently. All I could do was moan as I swam in pleasure.

Our breathing sounded really hard and labored. Jacob's groans and heavy breathing, alone, were enough to drive me mad. His groans were incredibly sexy, and I enjoyed every single bit of it.

I inhaled sharply and hissed as Jacob thrust his erection dangerously close to my center.

"Bells, are you okay?" he whispered.

My eyelids fluttered and all I could do was nod in response. 'Okay' was an understatement of the century. I was practically bursting at the seams. He'd suddenly unlocked this hidden part of myself, and all I could do was lay there in total shock.

_I have died and gone to Jacob heaven_, I thought as I ran my hands across his strong arms.

Somehow, a few rational thoughts managed to push their way to the forefront of my brain. Although my body screamed the total opposite, I said, "Jacob, umm…I think we…umm…we need to stop…"

The hurt in Jacob's eyes was undeniable. Again, he kissed me with desperation as a deep groan escaped his throat. That sexy throaty groan was _all_ it took. I whimpered, giving in to him against my better judgment.

"Can I taste you?" he asked gruffly, pleading with his eyes.

_Holy Cow_!

_Taste…as in…umm…taste, taste_?

My eyes grew, and I gulped hard. I _really_ wasn't expecting for him to ask that of all things, and it took several awkward seconds for me to answer. Formulating intelligent thoughts at the moment was like trying to thread a needle with a Twizzler—it just wasn't happening.

All I could get out was a strained, "Mm-hmm."

I became a deer caught in headlights as Jacob moved his large hands up and down my sides. On one of the upstrokes, he slid his hands underneath my shirt, making me gasp, and effectively turning up the heat another notch.

With speed and precision, Jacob moved my shirt up and off before I could even begin to protest. A strong blush covered my cheeks, and my first thought was to cover myself, but his signature Jacob smile instantly relaxed me.

I silently thanked God that I was wearing a good bra while he placed feather light kisses on my shoulders and across my bare chest. He paused for a moment before he traced the lace of the turquoise-colored fabric. Goose bumps followed the trail of his fingertips, and my nipples tightened in response.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the flurry of sensations Jacob created while he caressed and squeezed my breasts. I imagined that he was running high on anticipation, because he tugged back the fabric and wasted no time replacing his fingers with his mouth. His tongue and lips felt incredible, and I writhed beneath him, pressing my thighs together to create pressure on my clit.

Jacob took his time, and he teased my nipples until I felt like I was going to explode if I didn't get relief soon. As if he could read my thoughts, he moved down and began to undo my jeans, which soon found their way to the floor.

I was in total disbelief, but I watched intently, anticipating his next move. Holding my hips firmly, Jacob placed feather light kisses across the front of my thighs. An involuntarily moan escaped me as he nudged my knees with his nose hinting for me to open up to him.

"Oh, God!" I yelled louder than I expected.

Jacob brushed his lips against the outside of my panties before saying, "Nope, Bells s'just me." He wore the cockiest grin ever, and regardless of how obnoxious he sounded, I couldn't help but to laugh. Leave it to Jacob to always have something silly to say. The giggles were quickly halted, and I hissed repeatedly as he ran his tongue insanely close to my pussy, not quite touching it.

Jacob glanced up with a raised eyebrow, looking me in the eye as if he was asking for permission to go further. I was beyond nervous, and I couldn't think of anything to say that didn't have the potential to totally kill the mood. Being sexy and talking dirty was so out of my element that it wasn't even funny.

To be on the safe side, I just smiled and opened my legs a little more. With that motion, he hooked his index finger in the edge of my panties and moved them to the side, fully revealing me to him.

I couldn't believe he was really down _there_.

I threaded my fingers through his hair, and he held my hips firmly keeping me close to him. Rapid pulsing sensations overtook me as his tongue made first contact with my clit. I clamped my eyes shut and rode the continuous waves of pleasure that Jacob created.

My sexual experience was limited, but I could tell that Jacob was an expert at this. I couldn't help but to thrash repeatedly underneath his hold while chasing that ultimate high.

As my body tipped on the edge of nirvana, Jacob lapped my juices hungrily. My thighs were clamped around his head, but he didn't slow down one bit. I clenched my teeth and tried not to rip his hair out at the roots as he pushed me over the edge. My hips thrust violently against his face and incoherent words spilled from lips as I let the orgasm overtake my body.

A hasty knock at the door evaporated all feelings of ecstasy, and panic immediately washed over me.

_Please, God, don't let that be her_!

"Hold on a moment!" Jacob yelled.

There was no response from the person behind the door. I jumped off of the couch with record speed, trying to gather my clothes on the floor.

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_A/N: DUN DUN DUN! I hate to leave you guys with such a huge cliff hanger, but I'll be headed out of town for a much needed summer vacation, so I won't be able to post another chapter for at least another five days. I really appreciate my readers and I hope to keep you around for the duration of this ride. lol. Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget-leave me a review, if not for me, do it for Jacob. =) Thanks._


	6. Knock, Knock

_A/N: Hey, everybody! The past five or six days have been long (yet, wonderful) while I was on vacation in the great city of Dallas. As promised, I'm back with the next chapter! I know I left you all with a nice cliffy, but I promise to make it up to you =) Before you get to reading, I must warn you that there will be a little lemony scene toward the end of this chapter from Josie's POV, so if you don't care to read about her and our dear Jacob together, it won't hurt if you skip that part. This is the one and only part of the story like this, but it's important for developing the story, itself. I really hope you enjoy, and I'll love you forever if you leave me a review when you're finished. The more you review, the quicker I'll post new chapters. Thanks for reading. 3_

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**JPOV**

"You can't be fuckin' serious…" I groaned quietly under my breath so only Quil could hear me.

Bella was struggling to get her shirt over her head, and although it was probably inappropriate as hell, I fought the urge to laugh at her clumsiness.

"I'll be right back. Sit tight," I told her.

I opened the door just enough to slip out, and closed it behind me. Quil stood there wearing a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

"So, old Jakey-boy, I guess fixing cars isn't the only thing you're good at..."

He put a hand on my shoulder and continued, "…either that, or that's one helluva Cadillac you're working on in there."

"Yeah, whatever. Real smooth, Quil! What do you want, anyway?"

"Well, uhh…let's see here," he tapped his chin and spoke sarcastically.

"Ahh, yes…there's a lady named Josie who's called the shop three times in the past hour looking for you. Meanwhile, I'm trying to diagnose a problem with an engine, but can't focus because_ somebody_ was loud as hell while playing the muff diving game."

I rolled my eyes and told Quil that we'd talk about this later. I wanted to get him the hell away from me because I began to feel sick to my stomach as soon as he reminded me of Josie. Tons of conflicting emotions began to wash over me.

_What the fuck am I doing_?

If I kept up this type of shit, I knew Josie would get suspicious. I' never been the type of person to hurt another…not on purpose, anyway. I hadn't even had any intentions of messing around with Bella. Literally, it just sort of…_happened_.

One minute, we were having an awesome time catching up, and the next minute, Josie had called, and Bella was crying. I didn't even know why she crying, but I felt her pain as if it were my own. I guess it was an imprint thing.

Taking a few deep breaths, I walked back into the office. Bella was sitting on the couch looking flustered, and despite the awkwardness of the situation, I thought it was kind of cute.

"Bella, I'm sorry about that. That asshole—"

"I'm gonna go, Jake." she mumbled, staring at her feet.

Bella stood and left without giving any eye contact or even a real goodbye. I had the urge to run after her, but I felt like it would've been useless. I just hoped that she didn't hear the conversation between me and Quil.

_The good stuff always happens to Jacob Black_, I thought sarcastically.

Picking up my cell, I messaged Josie to tell her that I'd be home soon. It was after ten o'clock and, I predicted that she'd already have the pillows and a blanket waiting for me on the couch.

All kinds of thoughts bounced around in my brain during the drive home. I wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but deep down, I was scared. Me imprinting on someone had become a trivial thought, but now I questioned damn near everything…_especially_ my marriage.

In the days since the imprint, my mind had become dedicated to Bella Swan. Something as simple as a bowl of oatmeal would somehow remind me of her—don't ask me how.

Initially, my plan was to try to ignore all of it. I figured if I avoided her and tried my best not to think about her, somehow the feelings would fade away. That was only wishful thinking on my part. It was like Bella was heroin, and I'd become a junkie after that first kiss.

_Okay, not quite to the weird scratching and shit, but you get my drift_…

With the passing days, I became more on edge. My temper flared at the smallest thing, and my want to see her only grew stronger.

Life at home couldn't have been worse. I loved the hell out of Josie, but the imprint had totally screwed up my feelings. It was like…in my brain I knew that I loved her and I knew she was my wife, but my heart and soul only had an affinity for Bella. '_I do's_' and promises of forever had become distorted overnight.

It pained me whenever I tried to think about Josie because I couldn't fathom telling her that I'd imprinted. I knew that it would kill her. Before we got married, she'd stressed so much over the possibility of it happening. Several times she'd mentioned that she didn't want to be in a situation like Sam and Leah's.

Leah and Sam were high school sweethearts. They'd dated and were even engaged, but all of that was sent straight to hell when he'd imprinted on her cousin Emily. Although that happened almost ten years ago, to this day, Leah was still bitter about it. It was an awful situation that was a prime example of the downside to imprinting. Sam couldn't control it, and I knew he felt bad for what happened…he probably still does, but the call of the imprint was stronger than his connection with Leah, and ultimately, Emily turned out to be perfect for him.

I'd hated the concept of imprinting when I first learned about it. The thought of some ancient fairy-tale crap deciding who I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life made me sick. Something about the concept of being permanently bound to someone forever just didn't sit well with me, either.

The elders believed that imprinting was rare, but every single person in my pack had imprinted within a few years of phasing. Leah and I were the only exceptions.

My dad was convinced that I would imprint because I was a descendent of the Alpha bloodline. He used to stress to me how strong the imprint of the Alpha would be, but over time, even he began to doubt the likelihood of it happening.

Now that I had imprinted, all of my disgust and negative opinions had went right out window. When Bella was around, my wolf was more like a docile puppy and, I felt more at ease than I could possibly describe. The feeling of the unbreakable bond we shared was better than any form of love and loyalty that I'd ever felt.

As I made it closer to my destination, my anger began to spike. All of those back and forth thoughts about imprinting hadn't helped prepare me for going home at all. The nearer I got, the more conflicted I felt, and I don't know if it was my wolf senses or just human intuition, but I had a feeling that something bad was about to go down.

**Josie's POV**

The last few days had been rough.

_Rough was probably an understatement_.

I didn't know what was going on with Jay, but I could tell that he'd been really bothered by something because we had barely talked. Every time I looked at him, he seemed to be absorbed in deep thought, but whenever I'd inquire, he'd swear it was nothing.

I had gotten pretty pissed earlier when he didn't answer my phone calls, but I decided not to raise hell about it. It was time for us to kiss and make up. I planned to turn the tide tonight when he came home.

When I heard his truck pull into the garage, I ran to the bathroom mirror and gave myself a quick once-over. I smiled at my reflection and hoped that Jay would notice the extra effort that I'd put into my appearance. I'd curled my hair, and put on a little skimpy tank top and shorts that revealed more than it covered.

I kissed him on the cheek when he walked through the door.

"Hey, Love."

It was evident that Jacob wasn't very warmed by my greeting.

"Evenin'," he grumbled rather flatly, giving me a loose hug.

Heading into the kitchen to hand him a glass of lemonade, I told him that I had dinner ready and warming in the oven, but as I came out he just trudged past me, heading for the bedroom.

"I'm gonna go take a shower before I eat."

I was hoping that he would come home a little happier but I couldn't blame him for being in a crappy mood. If anything, I'd only been adding fuel to the fire by giving him the silent treatment and making him sleep on the couch the past couple of nights.

I sat on the bed, patiently waiting for Jay to get out of the shower. When he walked in only wearing a towel around his waist, I couldn't help but to stare. I must admit that I had one sexy ass husband! Little droplets of water covered his skin and the little freak in me wanted to lick him dry. I let my eyes travel from his sculpted chest down to the sexy V shaped area that lead to my favorite part of his body.

I licked my lips. "Babe, I need you to do me a favor."

"In a minute. Lemme dry off."

Quickly, I stood up, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the living room. Jay followed behind me asking me where we were going. I flashed him a mischievous grin.

"Just be a good boy and let me handle this," I said while motioning for him to sit on the couch.

Jay looked perplexed, but he quickly got the hint when I lowered myself onto my knees in front of him. He stared with wide eyes as I attempted to open the towel.

Placing his hands firmly on top of mine to impede my efforts he said, "Josie, what are you doing?"

With a devilish grin I replied, "What do you think I'm doing?"

I moved closer to his lap, pushing myself between his knees, and swatted his hands away. My mouth watered with anticipation as I revealed his nudity below the waist.

Jay began to relax, and leaned back fully, watching my every move. At that moment, I knew I had him under my spell. Receiving oral had _always_ been his number one weakness.

I took hold of him and wasted no time going to work. I teased him with strokes of the hand before taking the tip into my mouth. His breathing became increasingly labored while I sucked and savored him.

The appreciative sounds Jay was making further encouraged my efforts, and I picked up the pace gradually in anticipation of his climax. Several times I glanced up at him to see his eyes tightly shut, his face contorted into an expression of pure ecstasy.

"Keep going." he groaned.

I giggled inwardly. He didn't have to tell me twice!

I chased his climax, making my enthusiasm evident by the precise movements of my mouth. Within minutes, he was pumping his hips, pushing himself deeper into my mouth and down my throat. His wild movements were turning me on so much, making me wish I was taking all of him deep inside of me.

"Fuck!" he hissed, gripping my hair.

I pulled out just in time to stroke him to a much-anticipated climax.

**JPOV **

After Josie finished giving me that awesome blowjob, ironically, I felt disgusted.

I watched Josie as she left to clean herself up. The entire time she was going down on me, I couldn't take my mind off Bella. I'd never fantasized about another woman while being with my wife, but now, I just couldn't get Bella out of my freakin' head.

Behind closed eyelids, all I could see was Bella's head dipping up and down in my lap. At one point, I almost groaned her name, but caught myself just in time. There's no doubt that Josie would have killed me. Hell, she would've killed me, somehow revived my ass, and then killed me again.

I became angry while mulling through my thoughts of what had just happened.

Josie brought me dinner and we ate together in silence. She tried to start small talk, but I didn't want to deal with it.

"I'm tired, Josie. I'm sorry."

"I understand…" she trailed off.

After finishing the late dinner, we both got into bed. I tossed and turned a million times trying to find a comfortable position. Guilt and shame covered me. I'd spent the whole day dreaming about Bella, and even went as far as _almost_ having sex with her.

The shift between Josie and me had become something that I couldn't ignore. Hell, I couldn't even enjoy her blowing me without thinking about Bella.

_Something has gotta give_…

Josie snuggled up close behind my back and wrapped one of her arms around me causing my heart to ache. My wolf was bothered by her presence and I felt truly repulsed.

I'd initially shunned the thought of it, but I knew I needed to talk to someone about all of this. Drifting off into a restless slumber, I realized just who it was going to be.


	7. Realization

_A/N: I'll keep this note short and simple. This chapter as well as the next one or two chapters will contain more information on the background situations of each major character. I know some of you are wondering how in the world did Jacob end up with a woman like Josie, but I promise to fill you in on that question within the near future. Thanks so much for visiting, and I really hope you take the time to drop me a review after you're finished. I've been trying to reply to each and every one. Happy reading =)_

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**BPOV**

I laid in bed for hours thinking about what happened between Jacob and me. I tried to put my thoughts to rest, but sadly my efforts were a waste because I stayed awake way into the wee hours of the morning. Either Jacob was that damn _good_, or I was just that weak over him.

When I wasn't thinking about what Jacob had done, I was fantasizing about all the other things that he could possibly do. I felt like he'd had a direct link to my thoughts while he worked his magic, because the pleasure he'd given me had bordered on overwhelming.

Unfortunately, I'd been a late bloomer when it came to sex. I'd lost my virginity only two years prior, and even after that, I'd only done _it_ a handful of times. My ex boyfriend had always bragged about how great the sex was, but I failed to see what all the fuss was about.

For one thing, I never truly felt comfortable being fully naked around him…it was just shamefully awkward. I didn't have low self-esteem, but I always felt uneasy about showing him my body. Even worse, he believed he was some type of sex god, but had some of the most awful habits, like how he'd talk way too much while haphazardly humping me for his usual five or ten minutes.

Jacob, on the other hand, hadn't even penetrated me, but I could already tell that he had the kind of skills that could make a woman go crazy. When I had laid there and he kissed up my thighs, I didn't know if I should've gotten up and ran or beg for more. I'd never tried oral sex before, and the whole experience felt surreal.

Squirming in bed, I clamped my thighs together every time I thought about the moment he made me climax. Although I had no intentions of admitting it to Jacob, he'd given me my first _real_ orgasm. The pleasure I'd received in the past wasn't anything like the explosion I felt, or the extreme feeling of fulfillment that I'd experienced at his hands.

…_Or tongue, rather_.

When we'd first started fooling around, I was apprehensive as hell. I didn't intend on losing any of my clothes, but those sweet kisses easily snuffed all my rational thoughts. By the time that he'd made me come, I was craving all of him. Caution had been thrown to the wind, despite the fact that I needed to be having sex with my married best friend like I needed a freaking hole in the head.

If it hadn't been for Quil's interruption, I'm pretty sure that I would've given Jacob the green light for more. He had me ready and willing, but my libido dropped off the side of a cliff when I overheard Quil mention Josie.

**Josie's POV**

"So, in other words, you're telling me that there's absolutely _nothing _wrong?"

"Yes, according to the thorough panel of tests that were performed, Mrs. Black. All of your lab work came back fine. Your husband's sperm count is fine as well. In fact, his sperm count is slightly above average with optimal motility levels."

Fully displaying my high level of frustration, I looked at Jay and sucked my teeth. His facial expression was unreadable, furthering my frustration. It never failed…he was always mum at the most inconvenient times.

I turned my attention back to Doctor Moruzzi and forced a pleasant smile.

"With that being said…" he paused for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Do you have any more questions for me?"

"Unless Jacob has any, I guess not…" I trailed off.

Jacob shook his head, staring off blankly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was totally disinterested in the meeting we were having with our fertility specialist.

"Before I leave, I must thank you again for meeting with me this afternoon," Dr. Moruzzi stood up, preparing to exit. "Good luck to both of you. Mrs. Black, don't get discouraged, I'm confident that you will conceive naturally…and if not, we can explore other options in the future."

Immediately after the doctor closed the door, I turned and glared at Jacob without saying a word.

_Dickhead!_

I resisted the urge to cry even though the doctor's words were tearing me up inside.

Jay stood, gathered me into his arms, and hugged me tight.

The drive from home from Olympia was uneventful. Jacob drove without the radio on, making it painfully silent, and he gripped the steering wheel like he was holding on for dear life.

"Babe, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" I wasn't the least bit convinced.

"Yes," he said firmly, not taking his eyes off the road.

I left it at that because there was no denying that he was bothered by something, but trying to drag more information out of him was only going to make things worse. Once again, an uncomfortable silence drifted between us.

We'd been actively trying to get pregnant since we first got married, and yet, here we were, two years later with _no _baby. After the first six months or so of activelytrying to get pregnant, I began to worry. When I had expressed my feelings to Jay, he sympathetically reassured me that our time was coming. Trying to stay positive, I took things in stride, but I couldn't keep the worries at bay.

To make matters worse, it seemed like there was a damn Quileute baby boom going on, and every time a new couple from the rez would announce that they were expecting, I'd fall into a mini-depression. No matter what I did, and no matter how hard I wished to get pregnant, it just hadn't happened.

I had gotten to the point where I would have thoughts about a baby _every_ single day.

Before we'd gotten married, Jay often talked about his hopes for a big family. His eyes would light up when he'd talk about having four children—two girls, and two boys—and here I was, unable to get pregnant with even _one_ baby. With each passing month, I began to feel more inadequate as a woman.

Finally, I felt like maybe we'd have a breakthrough when my cousin Dana suggested that we see a fertility specialist in Olympia. We had to wait a whole month after the initial lab testing to find out what the doctor concluded, and I was walking on eggshells the entire time. I spent countless hours online reading message board discussions on fertility drugs, conception complications, and all things pregnancy-related.

One would think that I would have been relieved to know that he and I were both fine, but I felt horrible. The doctor insisted that we "let nature take its course" and wait for at least six months before trying fertility drugs. However, my patience had already worn incredibly thin, and I'm sure that Jacob's had as well. He'd been reluctant to discuss his true feelings, but I could see so much pain in his eyes when we visited Embry and Dana after they had their son, Luke.

"Josie, things are going to be changing up some with the pack," Jacob said, intruding on my personal thoughts.

"Change how?"

"With Sam, Leah, and now Paul not phasing…everybody else has to pick up the slack when it comes to patrols."

I crossed my arms.

_Here we fucking go_…

"Okay?"

"I'm just saying…I'll have to be gone more often than I have been. Most of the time you don't even notice because I patrol from three 'til six in the morning, but now I'll probably be gone a little more."

"Why do you even patrol, anymore?" I snapped. "It's not like there has been activity since you were like nineteen."

I sensed Jay's temper rising.

He exhaled hard and said, "Josie, you already know the answer to that. We are the protectors of our people. It is _our_ duty—"

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_…

I cut him off, "I know that, but _still_…"

I shifted uncomfortably and stared out the window, watching the trees go by in a blur.

"It's what's best for the pack, and as Alpha, it is my responsibility to make sure that we remain strong," he said in an authoritative tone.

"I understand," I groaned, lying through my teeth.

The rest of the ride was tense, and I was more than happy when we pulled into our driveway.

"I'm gonna go to the shop and get some work done," Jacob sighed as I got out.

I disapproved.

"When should I expect you to be home?"

"I don't know. We've been pretty backed up lately…and I missed the whole morning and part of the afternoon. The guys can't handle it all."

"I _guess_," I huffed.

I didn't even tell him goodbye before I slammed the truck door, showing my irritation.

Jacob was driving me insane! He never had time for me—time for us. If he wasn't with the _damn_ pack in the middle of the night, he was working around the clock at the garage, towing cars, or carting Billy around from place to place. It had been that way when we first got married, and I always assumed that things would get better, but if anything, it had only gotten worse.

**JPOV**

"You're kidding, right?"

"Man, I wish…" I buried my face in my hands.

"Have you told her?"

"Hell no!"

I looked up at Sam like he'd grown three heads.

"I'm not going to even ask _if_ you're going to tell her. It's more like…_when_ are you going to tell her?"

"This is some bullshit, Sam!"

He rubbed the back of his neck and winced.

I had hoped that coming to talk to him would help…like maybe he could offer me some insight or…at least…something since he'd basically been in the same situation. I told him _everything_, and he listened closely before giving a response.

"You know you can't keep this a secret from Billy…the council…" he paused.

I rolled my eyes at the thought of having this conversation with Billy.

"I know. I just thought it would never happen to me…and if it did I'd just ignore it or something."

We continued to talk about imprinting for another hour before I got up to get Josie for our doctor's appointment in Olympia.

"Be careful, man," Sam said with a mischievous grin, indicating the double meaning behind his words.

Thankfully, time went by quickly that day and we got to Olympia in no time. I felt uncomfortable as hell in the waiting room because Josie looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. I held her hand, but felt conflicted because it wasn't…Bella's.

Eventually, a nurse called us back, and we were seated in the doctor's office. While waiting, I looked at all the fancy degrees and awards on the walls while Josie pursed her lips and didn't say much. I wasn't sure if her silence was a good or a bad thing.

We'd come there a month earlier and she'd gotten all kinds of blood tests, and stuff like that done, while I had the pleasure of jacking off into a cup in a little cramped assed bathroom. I'd really hoped that we could find out what was wrong so we could move past all of this.

I couldn't even enjoy sex like I used to because it seemed like Josie only looked at me for a source of sperm. She wanted to have sex constantly, and under normal circumstances I would be jumping at the chance to put it on her, but _it_ wasn't anything special anymore. I just felt too much pressure to get her pregnant, which took all the fun out of the act.

When the doctor came in, he wasted no time getting to the point, and I listened closely while he explained all the technical stuff.

"So, in other words, you're telling me that there's absolutely nothing wrong?"

Josie's harsh tone made me wince. She could have such an ugly attitude, sometimes. Her pulse quickened, and she looked at me like she wanted to kick my ass right there in front of the doctor.

_What did I do now_?

Not wasting any time, the doctor finished explaining everything, and was out the door just as quick as he came. Josie and I sat there in silence, and I tried my best to think of something to tell her, but I couldn't because I was stuck on the conversation I'd had with Sam.

When I was leaving his house, I'd mentioned taking Josie to a fertility doctor, and he brought up something about it being a possibility that I couldn't get Josie pregnant because I was meant to carry on the bloodline through my imprint. I hadn't put much stock into what he'd said, especially since I hadn't found his conversation very helpful, anyway. When the doctor said there was no medical reason why we couldn't get pregnant, it dawned on me that what Sam had said might really be true.

Unfortunately, the drive home was pretty shitty. My mind was racing a mile a minute as I tried to get a grasp on what was going on, and Josie's nagging only made me feel worse. I knew she meant well, but she always tried to poke and prod at the worst times. Her antics were suffocating the hell out of me, and the faster we got home, the better.

On top of that, my wolf was was becoming increasingly anxious since I hadn't seen Bella in almost twenty-four hours. The pull I had to her was insane.

Seeing imprinting through the minds of the other wolves before I had imprinted didn't compare to the need I felt to be around Bella—to protect her—to be everything she needed and more.

I tried to take my mind off Bella by talking about some decisions that I'd made concerning the pack. Josie had always been uptight about the whole wolf thing, but she'd come to accept it. My mention of the pack alone was enough to get her panties in a bunch, though. I wasn't surprised when she threw a fit about me stepping up on patrols.

There hadn't been any leech activity in the area in a long ass time, but there was no way I was going to slack off on my duties.

The whole drama queen act she pulled when I dropped her off almost sent me over the edge. I needed time alone to think and we were swamped at the shop. While I drove to the garage, I called Dad to check on him. We'd always been super close, especially after mom died, and I really felt bad because I couldn't dedicate more time to keeping up with him like I used to.

Somewhere between talking about his next fishing trip and the upcoming council meeting, he mentioned that Charlie was there watching the game, and I couldn't resist the urge to ask about Bella.

"_Charlie said she's doing good and she's been gone all day looking at apartments. She might need your help when it's time for her to move_."

I imagined helping her pack away all of her panties, examining them closely, and dreaming about what she'd look like in each pair.

_Bella in thongs, Bella in lace, Bella's sexy hips_…

Billy cleared his throat, "_Son, you there?_"

"Oh…umm…yeah. I'm heading in the shop. I'll hit you back."

"_Alright. Talk to you later, Son_."

After hanging up, I went inside. Embry had left for the day, Paul was in the middle of an oil change, and Quil was out doing a tow. I checked over the work log before I got to work replacing a torque converter assembly that I'd been working on the day before.

After I finished up, it was almost nine o'clock, and my stomach was seriously growling. I texted Josie asking if she'd cooked, but she never responded. I sent her another message to remind her that I needed to patrol later before throwing my phone in my desk. She sort of pissed me off since she didn't reply to my message, because I knew that was her way of trying to get back at me for leaving her earlier.

I decided to head out to get something at the diner, but Quil yelled for me as I was on the way out. I noticed that he was on the phone when I walked into the office and had no doubt that it was Josie on the line. She'd probably called my cell phone twenty times since I'd put it in the desk.

"Yeah, hold on, here he is right here…"

I mouthed to him, "Who is it?"

Quil covered the mouthpiece and with a devilish grin whispered, "It's _Bella_." He put extra emphasis on the second syllable, making her name roll off of his tongue.

Her name instantly brought a smile to my face, and I grabbed the phone, flipping him off while he walked away laughing and shaking his head. My stomach began doing flips when I opened my mouth to talk.

_Get your shit together Black and stop being a little girl_.

"Hello..."


	8. Reindeer Games

_A/N: I do not own the Twilight series or anything associated with it, including Jacob Black. You and I both know this, but just in case, I thought I'd leave a friendly reminder. Happy reading! =) By the way, I'd REALLY love it if you took the time and left me a review after you're finished. Keep in mind that this is my very first fic ever, so any comments and/or criticism is more than welcomed. Thanks! _

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**BPOV**

"Jacob?"

My anticipation level was growing by leaps and bounds when he answered.

"_Hey, Bells. What's up_?"

My mind went blank when I heard his voice. I'd woken up with him on my mind, and throughout the day, I thought about the conversation we'd had at his garage and how he made me laugh non-stop with his silly jokes. Jacob's personality hadn't changed one bit. He was still my sweet and cheerful Jacob who had an infectious personality that one couldn't help but to like.

"Not much…" I trailed off, creating an awkward silence.

_Maybe I shouldn't have called after all_…

I twirled the telephone cord around my fingers and tried to relax, but a swarm of butterflies relentlessly swirled in the pit of my stomach.

"_Is everything okay_?" he questioned.

"Umm…yeah. Everything's fine!" I tried to sound a little peppier. "Are you busy?"

"_Nah…just about to grab something to eat before I go home_."

"Ohh…" I _really_ needed to get to the point. "…I'm surprised you're at work this late."

Jacob laughed lightly into the phone, "_Bella, I've gotta feeling you didn't call me to talk about work_."

"…I bet you think you're clever?" I joked.

"_Well…I don't wanna toot my own horn, but…beep beep._"

I assumed that he was smiling by the sound of his voice, and I was grinning like an idiot, myself.

_Thank God he can't see_.

"You're terrible!" I laughed.

"_But you like it_!" He playfully replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I paused and took a deep breath, hoping the _on_ switch in my brain would flip. "You were on my mind, and I tried my best to stop thinking about you, but…" I paused, biting my lip.

_Did I just say that_?

I'd officially just had a case of word vomit. Yes, I was thinking about how I missed him, but definitely didn't intend on saying it aloud.

"_But what_?" he asked with interest.

I don't know where I gathered the courage from, but I decided to go ahead and finish telling him what was really on my mind.

"Well, I don't know how to put it, really. Umm…I'm in town at the police station…long story. When I passed by the garage I saw your truck, and I know it's your place of business and all…but I just really wanted to talk to you."

_Okay…there…I got it out_.

"_Bella Swan_? _Thinking about little old me_?" Jacob said sarcastically.

Although it was obvious that he was being sarcastic, his words made me want to drop the phone like it was a hot potato. I definitely should've just ignored that nagging impulse I'd had to call him. Besides, I was _supposed_ to be working.

Apparently, Fork's police department was so small that they only kept one telephone operator on payroll for the night shift. She'd unexpectedly went on early maternity leave, and Charlie asked me to man the phones for a few nights until they could get something worked out. It was either me, or Officer Shelby—the man who sounded like Forrest Gump's twin brother. How a man could be from Washington but have such a deep southern accent was beyond me.

I wasn't necessarily excited about spending a few nights at the station, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad. With a town population of about three thousand; I really doubted the phones would be ringing off the hook. If anything, I'd probably spend those hours catching up on the last season of _True Blood_ and daydreaming about Jacob.

_I'm pathetic—I know_.

"_Somebody's ignoring me now_?" Jacob teased.

I jumped a little as his voice startled me back into reality.

"Hush. Go get your food or whatever. I don't want to hold you up."

That last sentence was a total lie. If anything, I wanted to have one of those marathon phone conversations where we'd stay on the line and talk without interruption until the sun came up.

_Wishful thinking_.

"_Am I a bad hostage if I want to be held up_?" he snorted.

From there we went back and forth for over half an hour, and he kept my cheeks flushed the entire time. I could tell that flirting came easy to him.

"_Bells, are you going to tell me why you're at the police station? Don't tell me that you're trying to be like Nancy Drew or…that old lady…from Murder She Wrote or something_?" he snorted again.

"Jake, you know your jokes suck, right?" I smirked.

"_But you're the one smiling right now? Am I right or am I right_?"

I could imagine he was probably wearing a cocky grin after that statement. I gave him a brief summary about me filling in for a few nights. Our conversation was coming to an end, but before hanging up, he asked, "_Mind if I come by for a few_?"

I thought he was kidding at first, but when I tried to laugh it off, he interrupted, "_Bells, I'm for real_."

Before I could debate my answer and reply, he continued, "…_but if you don't want me to then that's fine, too. I understand_." I could clearly hear the defeat in his voice.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean it like that!" I said a tad too loudly.

A few moments later, he told me that he'd be on the way soon. As a result, my cheeks were once again flushed.

The only policeman on duty that night was out doing some so-called patrolling. I doubted that there was much patrolling to do around town, unless you count breaking up a group of high school students loitering in the grocery store parking lot. Since he was gone, that left no one at the station but me. Charlie was home for the evening, but I was sure that nobody would care if Jacob stopped by.

**JPOV**

My day had started off bad, and had gotten increasingly worse, but all the crap that I'd dealt with faded from my mind as I walked toward Forks Police Department. It was a few blocks from the garage, and it only took me about five good minutes for me to get there walking at a normal human pace.

Knowing that I was going to see Bella made me feel like a certain weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. The anxiety I'd been feeling from my wolf's influence was quickly disappearing. I could faintly pick up Bella's scent as I walked up the steps to the little building, and I had to force away all of the dirty thoughts that were spawned from her smell alone. The feeling of a new imprint had turned me into a sex-crazed maniac and the need to mate with Bella was damn near overwhelming.

Drawing in a deep breath, I slowly pushed open the door. I assumed that there weren't many people there because I couldn't hear much activity. It's not like I expected for it to be—I mean, this _was_ Forks after all. During the daytime there were like three cops on duty. Hell, I was surprised that the station was even open at night.

My heightened sense of hearing clued me in to Bella's presence behind the door. She jumped up behind me, throwing her hands over my eyes in an attempt to catch me off guard. Even though I could clearly sense that it was her, I played along with her little game.

"Guess who?" she whispered.

She was pressed against my back, probably on the tip of her toes so she would be able to reach to cover my eyes with her hands. I fought my instinctive urge to turn around, grab her, throw her against the wall, and kiss her until she begged me to stop.

_Down, boy_!

"Umm, I don't know…" I said in an exaggerated way. " …I know that you're not a man, cuz your voice is too light…thank God for that because Jacob Black definitely doesn't swing _that_ way."

She giggled a little, sending chills down my spine since her lips in such close proximity to the back of my neck. That was a feeling I definitely wasn't used to. If she kept it up, I wasn't going to make it through the night without needing a release.

"Do you give up?" she teased.

"Darn, I guess so…" I said in sarcastic defeat.

When Bella unblocked my eyesight, I turned around and gathered her up into a tight hug. She felt so warm…so soft…so small.

"Jake…a little…tight." She coughed and laughed at the same time.

I didn't want to let her go, but I didn't want to seem like a clingy nitwit, either. After hugging, we both took a seat on a bench by the door. She looked so beautiful with her hair pulled into a messy ponytail and a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

It didn't take long for the awkwardness of our meeting to set in and I quickly tried to break the ice. _Hopefully this won't last long_, I thought.

"What'cha been up to?"

"Not much, really. Looked at a few apartments and a duplex today. Umm…got here not too long ago, and watched an episode of _True Blood_. That's about it…"

"_True Blood_?" I cocked my eyebrow.

"Yeah. You haven't heard of it before? It's a really popular show on HBO about vampires—"

"Vampires?" I interrupted.

"Yeah. They live among humans in this small town in Lousiana and…"

I couldn't hear anything else she said because I was still stuck on the mention of those bloodsucking demons.

"Oh."

My mood had shifted so quick at just the thought of them.

She continued, "It's not the best show ever, and sometimes the acting is downright awful, but it holds my interest pretty well. The storylines are crazy! It's kind of like a guilty pleasure for me."

_Just great. So—she likes some show about vampires? I wonder how she would feel if she knew that they really existed and that yours truly shape shifted into a giant werewolf to kill them_…

"I see…never heard of it."

_Next subject, please_!

"Are you okay?" Bella looked at me with intense concern.

It was at that moment I realized that I'd been sitting there with my jaw clenched and my fists balled up.

"Oh, yeah…I'm fine." I coughed.

I steered the conversation in another direction, and words began to flow easily between us. It had always been easy to have great conversations with Bella. In the past we'd never had those awkward moments of silence or extended small talk. Time flew, and there's no telling how long we would've sat there talking had it not been for my phone's unwelcomed ringing in my pocket.

Reluctantly, I pulled it out to see that it was Seth Clearwater calling. When I saw his name, I didn't even have to guess what he wanted. It was thirty minutes 'til one, and I was supposed to relieve him at midnight for patrols. _Fuck_! I'd totally lost track of time sitting there with Bella.

I didn't want to answer the phone knowing that it would ruin the moment.

"_Dude, where are you? Its' your night, remember_!" Seth was heated.

"Umm. I _seriously_ lost track of time…"

"_Are you coming or what_?"

"Yeah, dude. I'm on the way." I said quickly and hung up.

I would have to apologize later for being rude.

Bella's eyes raked across me, and I could tell that she was confused by the call.

"Bells, honey, I have to go. I'm sorry." I tried to give her the puppy dog eyes to ease the tension that was radiating off of her.

"It's okay. I mean, it's late, anyway…right?" She gave a forced smile.

She stood up to see me out the door, and I couldn't help but to get another one of those hugs from her. I held her tight and inhaled her smell one last time.

"Goodnight, Bells." I whispered in her ear before letting her go.

She put on another forced smile while I pulled away, "Goodnight, Jake."

She was pissed, sad, or…well, I don't know, but I could sense her uneasiness. I left in a hurry. I'd never been late for a patrol, and I really felt bad for leaving Seth out there like that.

"Hey, Jake!" Bella called out.

I was a few hundred feet from the station when I heard her call out for me. She was standing at the bottom of the steps at the station, and I ran full speed back to her. Without a word, she cupped my face in her hands and gave me a quick peck on the forehead.

"G'night, Jake." She whispered while walking back up the steps.

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_A/N: I admit that this chapter was more of a filler kind of thing, but I really hope you hang in there with me because things are definitely about to ramp up in 5, 4, 3, 2..._


	9. Uh, oh--Spaghetti-o

_A/N: Two times in one day! After proof-reading this chapter, I felt particularly generous, and decided to go ahead and post it. Huge shoutout to everyone who has left a review! I really appreciate each and every one of you, and I really hope you guys are enjoying the story. I will go ahead and warn you that this chapter will end on a huge cliffy. *evil laugh* Some questions will be answered in this chapter, and you just might be ready to pour water on my keyboard at the end due to the suspense factor. Lol! I'm writing future chapters as we speak-no worries. I really hope you enjoy =)_

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**BPOV**

Today made three months since I'd come back in Forks, and I couldn't deny that it had been the most eventful three months that I'd ever experienced.

Before coming here, I couldn't imagine that my life would kick into overdrive like it did.

Getting myself settled in was a big challenge in itself. After about two weeks of living with Charlie, I was more than ready to be in my own place. We'd adjusted to each other pretty easily considering we lived so far apart practically my whole life, but I was used to living on my own. Charlie definitely had his little quirks that began to wear on me pretty quickly, not to mention, I felt like I was imposing on his personal time with Sue.

Unfortunately, there wasn't an abundance of rental properties in the immediate area. Since my search wasn't very fruitful, Charlie suggested that I move into my grandparents' old house.

Initially, I wasn't too warm to the idea because it was so much bigger than what I needed and it hadn't been inhabited for over ten years. The more we talked about it, the more it sounded like a good idea, though. Apparently, Charlie had kept it up over the years since Gran and Pop passed away. Also, it was close to town—a big plus. He insisted that I not pay him rent, which I wasn't very comfortable with, but he would not back down.

Since I didn't have to pay rent, I was able to get some decent furniture with the money I saved. It didn't take long for me to get moved in with the basics set up, and I was more than content with my new home. It was so warm and cozy, despite having a few empty rooms.

Once I'd gotten myself settled in, I started to get the wheels in motion to open a bookstore in town. It had always been my dream to have my own little book nook, and with the encouragement of my dad and a few others, I'd gained the confidence I needed to turn my dreams into reality.

My business background was very limited and, initially I lacked the money needed to get it off the ground. With the help of an old friend from college, I wrote a flawless business plan and was able to secure a small business loan that was more than enough to get things started. I'd found an empty space on the main street that ran through town, and all that was left was getting inventory, décor, and advertisement. It wasn't easy, but things were going great.

Everyone that knew about my plans rallied behind me and were very supportive. I'd even taken Sue's suggestion to add on a little cafe aspect since there wasn't anywhere in town to get a good cup of coffee, tea, or anything like that—unless you count the local Pump & Save.

I was set to open on my birthday in September, leaving me with about three more weeks to prepare.

When I wasn't spending hours on end getting things in order for the business, or making minor improvements on my new place of residence, I was consumed in all things Jacob Black.

We'd seen each other practically every single day since I'd come home. Many of those days could easily qualify as some of the best days of my life, and I'd gotten to the point where I would miss him before he was even gone. When we were together, his presence elicited amounts of bliss that was beyond my wildest imagination.

Sometimes I'd worry myself into a fit about his home life, and I repeatedly told myself that I was going to cut my ties with him, but he was so familiar and his gentle nature always lulled my worries. I knew what we had going on was _very_ inappropriate. Despite being able to admit that I was wrong, I didn't make a material effort to put an end to it.

I'd made it clear to him that we wouldn't have any sexual contact after that incident at the garage, but that didn't stop us from sharing heated kisses laced with tons of sexual tension. I hungered for him in ways that I'd never hungered for a man before, but I couldn't cross _that_ line. Going that far would force me to truly admit to and examine my wrongdoings.

One night at Second Beach in La Push, I'd almost reneged on my own request. I had been hesitant about even going to La Push in the first place, especially when Jacob mentioned going to the beach—at night—but his signature smile was all it really took to soften me up.

There were three beaches in La Push, and most people visited First Beach since it was the easiest to access. Second Beach and Third beach required a decent amount of hiking over rough terrain to get to, and Jacob said that we'd have no worries of anyone being there.

I squealed like a small child while he gave me a piggyback ride down to the beach. He held me up like I was as light as a feather, and it took us no time to get there. I laughed to myself thinking how I would've tripped and fell flat on my face quite a few times if he hadn't carried me over the rocky terrain.

The moon was glowing extra bright onto the water, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline was so relaxing and picturesque. We sat out there for hours laughing and talking. It was as if only Jacob and I existed in the world…nothing else mattered.

He kept his arms wrapped around me, creating a cocoon of warmth that shielded me from the wind coming off of the water. His high body temperature seemed a little odd, but he always shrugged off my comments and said, "It's a Quileute thing."

_Whatever_…

"Bella, aren't you freaked out by _this_?" Jacob questioned, turning his head to stare into my eyes.

_Sheesh…that came out of nowhere_.

We'd just been talking about the possibility of the moon landing being a hoax, now this.

"Umm…" I broke eye contact and stared down at my hands.

I moved out of his hold, laid back onto the sand, closed my eyes, and concentrated on the sounds of the waves gently lapping against the shore. My anxiety levels spiked.

After several deep breaths, I opened my eyes, stared at the stars, and gulped, "Jake, it's not...right."

"I know…" he mumbled.

Tears began to well up in the corner of my eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. It was the first time we'd broached the subject of what exactly _was_ going on. I'd always loved Jacob as a friend, my best friend at that, but the lines between friendship and so much more had been aggressively disappearing since I'd come back home.

It was like a flip had been switched from the time we saw each other that day at Charlie's. We were able to pick up everything as if we'd been apart for only a few days, not ten whole years. Mushy feelings blossomed inside me from that day forward, and I couldn't deny that I was falling hard for him.

Jacob was the first person I thought of in the morning, and the last before bed at night. We'd both grown so attached to each other in such a short amount of time that it was kinda scary.

I'd see him briefly almost every day before he went to work or when he got off, not to mention the constant flow of text messages we sent back and forth throughout the day. I admit that I'd let my romantic feelings for Jacob to grow immensely without any regard to the consequences.

"It's crazy how strongly I feel for you. It's scary…"

"I know…I feel the same, Bells." He sighed.

Jacob laid down beside me, bringing back that delicious warmth that always brought me comfort. I turned my head to the side to see him staring back into mine. I couldn't help but to smile.

We laid like that for several moments, staring into the portal to each other's souls. There was something about Jacob that seemed to connect deep within me. It was like his energy flowed straight into my existence and brought me a completeness that I'd never experienced before.

"Kiss me." I whispered.

I removed my gaze from his eyes to his lips, then back up to his eyes. Unhurriedly, Jacob eased his lips closer to mine. Just before making contact, he paused and looked me in the eyes, causing an indescribable feeling of warmth to take over me. I gasped lightly before his lips grazed mine. He kissed me gently with an amount of passion that I'd never experienced before.

As much as we'd kissed before, none of those times compared. Jacob pulled my bottom lip between his and sucked it ever so gently before entering my mouth with his tongue. Our movements were so natural, and without cognizant thought, I moved myself on top of him.

He wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me even closer to him. Our breathing was choppy, and when he groaned into my mouth, my body responded instantaneously. I ground myself against him demonstrating my growing desire. He responded my grabbing my ass, and squeezing while pushing me down against his erection.

The friction sent my mind reeling. I used my hips to thrust against his bulge, sending shockwaves through my body as it made contact with my center. Had it not been for the pained animal howling, breaking the silence around us, I'm sure things would have progressed further.

Jacob jumped reflexively, "Bells, honey, we need to leave."

"You heard that, too? It sounded like a coyote, wolf, or something…"

Jacob carried me back to my car in record time. He clearly seemed agitated.

"You need to go straight home." He said firmly while gathering me up into a tight hug.

He kissed me goodbye with an exceptional intensity giving me flashbacks to our activities on the beach.

"Goodnight." He said, opening the car door for me.

"Night, Jake…" My sadness was apparent in my voice.

I wasn't ready for our time together to end, especially so abruptly.

**JPOV**

"You still haven't told her?"

"I'm just waiting for the right time."

Sam looked at me in disbelief.

"Three months and you haven't told her? There is no right time. You haven't even told Billy yet, have you?"

I shook my head. I really didn't want to hear a lecture, especially coming from Sam. I knew he was right, but I didn't want to hear his shit—not now. I'd already made up my mind that I wasn't going to come clean about the wolves, imprinting, and all of that until I was sure about Bella's feelings for me.

I could tell that she was abnormally drawn to me from the day of the imprint, but I wanted her to like me for me, and want me for who I am. If I told her that some magical hocus pocus was making her want me, it would probably freak her out and scare her away…that was the _last_ thing I wanted or needed.

On top of that, I couldn't ignore the gigantic elephant in the room—Josie. It wasn't like the woman I'd pledged my life to disappeared into thin air on the day I imprinted. I constantly drew blanks when I tried to really think about how to handle the situation. Trying to ignore it wasn't working, and if anything, it was making things ten times worse, but I had no alternatives. As Billy would say, I was _stuck between a rock and a hard place_.

I tuned Sam out for the remainder of the conversation, since he was really irking my nerves. I knew he meant well and all, but his so-called help was pissing me off. After leaving his place, I headed home for the evening.

As my relationship with Bella grew, mine with Josie had been tanking like a plane free falling from the sky. I knew it was only a matter of time before it crashed and exploded. The stress from knowing the inevitable hurt me deep down, more than I was willing to admit—even to myself.

It wasn't like I didn't love my wife. I did, and still do…it just wasn't the same, and I knew that it never would be. I felt horrible about my actions…really horrible.

I didn't even like Jose for a long time before we finally got together. She was a senior when I was a freshman, so I didn't really know who she was until Embry imprinted on her cousin Dana.

Dana and Josie were best friends, and usually when you saw one, you saw the other. Josie made it clear that she was interested in me, but I was always put off by her for some reason. She was pretty—don't get me wrong—but she and I didn't really click. She was persistent as hell, though, and over time I guess you can say she wore me down.

I wasn't exactly a player, no, but I had my fair share of girls. The girls around the rez were always on me like white on rice, and being the man that I am…well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

Before I opened the shop in Forks, I kept a good flow of business out of the garage at my Dad's house. One day, Josie brought over her little Ford Focus saying something about, "It won't act right." She'd really peeved me with her vague descriptions of the problem, but I went through the motions, anyway.

Josie sat in the corner while I changed the oil, and I was pleasantly surprised by her wit and good conversation. We exchanged numbers, and I guess you can say the rest was history. Quil and Embry loved to joke about me dating an older woman, and swore up and down that she'd want to settle down pretty quickly—they were right.

I was a few months short of being twenty-two and she was twenty-six when we got married. Billy was against it at first. He argued that I was too young, and as the true Alpha of the pack, I was meant to imprint.

As a result, Josie worked overtime to get him in her corner by cooking for him, helping him clean up, and stuff. It must've worked because he grew to love her and the idea of us getting married overnight.

We got married in June. Josie insisted on having a huge wedding like something out of the movies, but I would've been happy with something simple like a small ceremony on the beach. I didn't protest at all, though. This was her special day, and I would give her whatever she wanted. Everything was nice, nonetheless, and she was so gorgeous walking down the aisle. It was easily the happiest day of my life.

Marriage and children had always been something I'd wanted, even though it came a little earlier than I had planned.

Unfortunately, our marriage started to become really difficult pretty early. The honeymoon phase didn't last more than a few months because we were having trouble getting pregnant. As a result, Josie slowly became bitter and short-tempered. She'd always had a little testy side to her, but this became a regular occurrence. Every single argument we had, big or small and regardless of the subject, she'd always throw in our baby blues.

It really bothered me that I wasn't able to get her pregnant, but I didn't like to show it. It definitely became a sore spot for me as the time passed, but I tried to remain positive, anyway. I _knew_ that I was going to pass down my lineage. It was just a matter of time and patience.

Then_, Bam_!

Bella comes on the scene, I imprint, and that totally turned things upside down. I was beyond pissed when it happened, but it didn't take long for that to change. Before long, she'd become a fixture in my daily life. We spent tons of time together, even considering the circumstances.

I made it a point to take her somewhere new at least once a week so that we could share new and exciting experiences together. It wasn't easy at all to work around Josie, my job, and my duty to the pack, but you know…when there's a will, there's a way.

The more I really got to know Bella, the more I realized that she was everything I needed and more. The Great Spirits truly knew what I needed by making her my imprint and I couldn't deny it. She complimented me in so many ways, and we had so many random things in common that it wasn't even funny. She kept me smiling, even when we were apart.

_My Bella_.

My biggest worry wasn't _if _things would get ugly in the future, but how ugly it would get? Every time the question popped up on my mind, I'd push it away. I didn't know what the future held, but I was pretty sure that Bella would be in it.

When I turned into the driveway at home, I had to psyche myself up just to get out the truck and go in. Josie hadn't spoken to me in two whole days as a result of our last argument, and my patience had worn this as hell.

As I was stepping out of my truck, my cell rang—it was Billy.

"_Hey, Son. What's going on_?"

"Ahh…not much, Dad. Just got home."

"_Long day_?"

"Yup…very long."

"_Did Josie cook dinner_?"

"I don't know. I haven't even went in yet…probably not. Why? What's up?"

"_Well, I was in the mood for fish, and thought it would be a great day to fry some up. You and Josie might as well come over and eat with your old man_."

Going over to Dad's was a no-brainer. If we were in front of him, she'd have no choice but to act more civilized, and I'd get to spend some quality time with him—something I hadn't been doing as much as I would've liked.

"Sounds good, Dad. We'll be there. What time?"

"_I'm getting started now, so whenever_."

"Cool…see you soon."

**BPOV**

I'd had a very long day tying up loose strings in preparation for the grand opening of Novel Idea, and I wanted nothing more than to take a long bubble bath and get a nice foot rub from Jake. Instead, I was at Charlie's helping him set up his new desktop computer.

My dad wasn't tech savvy at all, but Sue had insisted that they get a home computer. While I hooked everything up, I updated Charlie and Sue about the bookstore and my tentative plans to take a few online business classes through the University of Washington.

"Billy's having a little fish fry over at his place tonight, Bells."

Charlie's mention of Billy piqued my interest and instantly directed my thoughts to Jacob.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I don't think it's going to be anything big since it's sorta last minute…probably just me, him, Sue, and Old Quil. You should come."

The people he named didn't sound like the most ideal dinner crowd, but I hadn't seen Billy in a while. My stomach seemed to growl on cue at the mention of food.

"Yeah…sounds like a plan."

After I finished setting up the computer, we got into my Prius, or Jenny as I affectionately called her, and headed off to La Push.

Billy rolled out onto the porch and welcomed us with open arms as we walked inside. I could smell the fish cooking and was ready to dig in when I walked through the door. We all sat around the living room chit chatting while the last batch finished cooking.

Everything was going great, and I volunteered to finish up the food and get out some dishes.

"I think that's Jake and Josie I here out there!" Billy announced.

At that moment, you could've knocked me over with a feather.

My palms began sweating and my heart was pounding in my ears.

Things could not get any worse.

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_A/N: It's about to get real! I hope I'm keeping you well entertained, and I hope that you'll take a few seconds to leave me a review-be honest and tell me what you think. This chapter might not be quite as well written since it wasn't beta'd so if you see something that's off, just let me know. Thanks, again!_


	10. Murphy's Law

_A/N: I'll save my random ramblings until the end of this chapter. Hope you enjoy!_

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**JPOV**

"Whose car is that?" Josie asked, pointing at the Prius parked in Billy's driveway.

Up until that moment, I'd been driving on autopilot, lost in my thoughts about me and Sam's conversation. Josie's question broke my concentration, and when I followed the direction of her pointing straight to Bella's car, it took an insane amount of self-control for me not to phase on the spot. I tried to talk, but my voice had packed up its shit and left town.

"Umm…I don't know." I shrugged, attempting to play it cool.

My mind was racing.

_What the hell am I going to do? _

_How can I get out of this? _

_Think of a fuckin' excuse to leave! _

_Think, Jake…think!_

_Christ, I'm so fucking screwed!_

I didn't even have time to pull a bullshit excuse out of my ass because Josie immediately hopped out the truck, eager to get inside.

"Fuck!" I groaned, trying to gather up some nuts to get out and face the music.

I just knew that somehow dinner was going to end with Josie being handcuffed and charged with attempted murder. I was _pretty _sure that she had no idea about what had been going on between me and Bella, but knowing Josie, she'd have one of those crazy women's intuition moments and go ape shit on us all.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar pain shot through my gut, and call it instinct or whatever, but I knew that something was wrong with Bella. My surroundings became a blur as I jumped out the truck running into the house. Billy and Josie were on the porch hugging, but I passed them without a second thought. I had tunnel vision, and the pull toward Bella was stronger than I'd ever felt.

She was standing in the kitchen, staring at her feet, with a look of horror on her face. Following the focus of her eyes, I saw shards of broken glass and a river of red. The strong metallic smell of blood hit me, and within the blink of an eye, I was on my knees looking over the open gash at the top of her foot.

"Bells, are you okay?" I asked with wide eyes, voice filled with concern.

She stood there frozen, staring down at me before mumbling, "Umm…I think I'm okay. The glass…I dropped…accident…umm…I just need to sit down."

I was so caught up in Bella that I didn't even realize everyone was standing around trying to see what happened. Charlie stepped toward her, causing my wolf to instinctively want to claw his way out.

"I've got this!" I glared at him.

Charlie frowned and stepped back, his hands up in surrender as if I were the sheriff and not him. Billy cocked an eyebrow at me, obviously concerned about the tone of voice that I'd used with Charlie. Meanwhile, Josie stood beside him with a hand on her hip like she was going to rip my throat out if I didn't get my hands off Bella's foot.

Five sets of eyes were glued on me while I stood up, scooped Bella up into my arms bridal-style, and moved her toward the couch. Laying her down, I remembered how she'd once mentioned her serious fear of blood. We'd been sharing childhood stories, and I had died laughing when she told me that she'd passed out the first time she fell off her bike because her knees and palms were a little bloody.

"I don't like blood…I'm getting kinda dizzy," Bella murmured.

She was paler than usual and looked like she'd faint at any moment. My heart lurched as her eyelids fluttered. I knew I was overreacting, but the pull to my imprint hit me in a way that I'd never felt before. The need to protect her was always there, but at that moment, her wellbeing was my only single focus.

"Jacob, move, I'll take care of it from here," Sue commanded, nudging me out of the way.

I was reluctant as hell, but Sue was a nurse after all. She immediately went to work and sent Charlie to the bathroom for the first aid kit. I stood over her shoulder during the entire process and watched her every move, ready to spring into action if needed.

"Josie, would you mind getting Bella some water?" Billy asked.

It didn't take long for Sue to get the wound cleaned up and bandaged, and Bella seemed to be much better after she drank some water. I swept up the shattered glass that Bella had dropped on accident, and Sue set up the table so we could eat. Dad's small dining table wasn't quite big enough for all of us, but somehow we made it work.

_I'll be damned_, I thought while taking the last chair. Somehow it worked out to where Josie was sitting across from me, and Bella was beside me. This setup couldn't have been more awkward.

_Fuck my life_!

I felt like I'd been thrown into La Push's very own lion's den.

Sue cleared her throat, "Shall we say grace?"

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, Sue said, "Join hands."

My heart was pounding so hard that it actually scared me. Holding hands during prayer was such an innocent thing, but I felt like Josie would magically figure everything out if she saw me holding Bella's hand.

Bella shot me a questioning glance, which caused me to shrug lightly, and I hoped that she was the only one who had paid me any attention.

The hammering of her heartbeat was as clear as day, her hands were clammy as hell, and the smell of her fear overpowered the food. I knew she was just as uncomfortable as I was—if not worse.

"Bow your heads…"

Sue's prayer lasted all of ten or fifteen seconds, but it felt like she'd recited the whole book of Genesis, and I let out a deep sigh of relief when it was over.

"Let's dig in!" Billy announced.

Josie began to stab at her food, glaring at me like I was going to be next. A disturbing image of Josie trying to stab me to death with a fork popped in my head. Judging by her mannerisms, alone, I knew I was in some deep shit—just _how deep _was the question.

"Josie, have you met Bella before?"

_Gee…thanks, Billy…_

Josie shook her head, not even cracking the slightest smile.

"With all of the commotion going on, none of us thought to introduce you two. Sorry about that…" Billy paused taking a big bite. "Josie, this is Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter…Bella, this is Josie, Jacob's wife."

Bella looked like a deer caught in headlights. Being polite, she extended her hand across the table, "Nice to meet you."

Josie's response was about as cold as a witch's tit. She clenched her teeth, staring at Bella's hand like it was covered with the plague. For several uncomfortable seconds, Bella held her hand there in space. Josie finally shook it—probably _only_ because of all of the awkward stares.

"Nice to meet you, too," Josie said, immediately staring back at her plate, pretending to be infatuated with her fish and hushpuppies.

Soon, everyone's attention became trained on Bella while Billy asked questions about her business and the upcoming grand opening. She was clearly uncomfortable about being the center of attention. I'd come to realize that she was never cool with being in the spotlight, and I'm sure the fact that Josie was sitting across the table from her was making it ten times worse.

"So, Josie, what's new and exciting?" Sue asked, redirecting everyone's focus.

"Not much, really…doing a few online classes…that's about it."

"Speaking of online classes, Bella just mentioned maybe taking a few business classes online. Maybe you can give her a little insight on how it works?"

Josie darted her eyes at Bella before muttering, "Maybe."

Billy, Charlie, and Sue talked their heads off during dinner while Josie, Bella, and I pretty much sat in silence. The tension between the three of us was super obvious, and I couldn't wait until I could get the hell out of there.

"Jacob, I need to have a word with you." Josie said, nodding her head toward the front door.

I _knew_ she was pissed if she was calling me Jacob and not Jay. All eyes were on me, and even after I'd turned my back from the table, I could still feel their stares. Josie excused herself and followed close behind me until we had our privacy on the porch.

"What's up?" I stared her in the eye, trying my best to keep an even tone.

"What the fuck do you think is up, Jacob?!"

I massaged the back of my neck, and exhaled hard. She was really barking up the wrong damn tree with me.

"Josephine, whatever's got you all riled up…can it wait?"

She rolled her eyes in response.

_Typical, Josie_, I thought.

"Umm…let me think," she paused, sarcastically tapping her fingertips on her chin. "How about…hell no!"

There was no reason for her to be this pissed off considering she didn't even know what was really going on between Bella and me. Maybe I was acting guilty, or maybe she was trying to use some of that reverse psychology junk on me.

"At least lower your voice?" I tried to reason with her.

"Don't tell me what to do! You weren't worried about what the hell I was doing when you ran in there playing Superman to save Little Miss Bella Swan earlier!"

The way she said Bella's name made me wince. I should've known that's why she was trying to blow a damn gasket on me.

"Josie, can you just wait until we get home?"

I was steadily losing control over my temper, and my wolf was threatening to take over at any moment.

"No, this can't fuckin' wait! Are you worried about them hearing? Let them fuckin' hear!"

I began to massage my temples, trying to relax a little, but to no avail. Her extreme drama queen act was too much for me, and I knew that if I didn't get away from her, I'd phase on the spot.

"I need some air." I growled, stomping off the porch.

My head was spinning, and it felt like the weight of the world had come crashing down on my shoulders.

"Oh, let me guess…? You're mad because I said something about your precious little Bella?" Josie sneered, pure hatred laced in her words. "Yeah, Leah told me all about how you used to be obsessed and in love with her. I know _everything_!"

I began seeing red, literally.

Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I took off toward the tree line, giving in to the violent urge to explode into the beast that had been threatening to claw his way out.

Scraps of my clothes flew in the air as I phased.

I didn't give a damn.

I ran with no direction in mind, just the drive to get the hell away from Josie.

**BPOV**

When Jacob and Josie left, everyone sat around the table sharing questioning glances.

The walls of Billy's house were awfully thin, and Josie's yelling was clearly audible on the inside. I cringed, silently praying that a hole would open up in the middle of the kitchen to swallow me up. At that moment, I literally felt like the worst person on Earth.

"How about we go watch a little TV?" Billy put on a fake smile and tried to sound cheerful.

After wheeling himself into the small living room, he turned on the TV, making sure the volume was high enough to distort the commotion on the porch. Despite the volume being unbearably high, I could still hear Josie's yelling, but I couldn't decipher her words.

I wondered how much she knew about Jake and me. Several times, she'd eyed me suspiciously at the table, and I almost had a heart attack when Billy formally introduced us. I felt like I had a big scarlet 'A' for adulterer tattooed on my forehead.

Being in such close proximity of her forced me to face the harsh reality of my actions. Nervous tension circulated through my body and my stomach was in knots during the entire time we sat at the table together. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't calm down—not even a little, and to make matters worse, my foot was aching really badly.

_ If only I'd turned down Charlie's invitation to come here in the first place_.

I'm not sure how long they were gone, but the yelling didn't last long.

"I better get up and make sure everything's okay," Charlie announced, standing up.

On cue, Josie walked back in-sans Jacob. Clearly irritated, she muttered something about "needing a moment" before walking toward Jake's old bedroom.

Sue followed behind her a few minutes later.

"Did she say where Jake went?" Billy asked when Sue came back.

"He went for a walk. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Billy. She's pretty upset, though," Sue frowned.

We all sat and watched an old western movie without saying much. It was obvious that everyone's mood had been dragged down.

I was sure that their argument had something to do with me, and I felt beyond awful. I knew that one day all of this was going to blow up in my face…and here it was. The urge to cry was strong, but I held it in knowing I'd raise all kinds of questions.

Over an hour passed and Jacob hadn't come back, which made me worry. It had gotten dark, and I knew he didn't have a coat. Surely, the temperature had dropped a good bit since he'd left.

Sue checked on Josie again, and this time, they both came back into the living room. I snuck a quick glance at Josie, noticing her eyes were red and swollen from crying. A fresh wave of guilt washed over me.

"Bella, do you think that you can give Josie a ride home? I'd take her, but you know, since me and Charlie rode with you…" Sue paused.

I thought my heart had stopped.

"Jake has the keys with him, and she doesn't have a key to the truck," Sue continued.

I gulped and forced a smile.

"Umm…yeah…I can take her."

Just when I thought that this evening couldn't possibly get any worse...

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_A/N: I hope this isn't playing out like a soap opera. *cringe* Ultimately, I hope you're enjoying this fic thus far, and the drama will simmer down a good bit within the next couple of chapters. I promise this won't be all doom and gloom, so hang in there with me if you're doubtful. I truly appreciate all of you who have taken the time to leave a review! With that being said, if you have any questions, comments, or criticism, feel free to leave it in the reviews or PM me. Thanks for reading! =)_


	11. Oh, the Dramatics!

_A/N: First things first, I must thank each and every single person who has taken the time to leave a review! I've really enjoyed reading reviews, and I hope that you can find the time to leave another one after finishing this chapter. Okay, so I'll go ahead and warn you that this chapter might be pretty rough, but I promise that this won't last tooooo much longer. This is not a fairytale-I repeat, this is not a fairytale kind of story; therefore, I'm trying to keep it fairly realistic. This chapter is double the length of most of the previous chapters, and there will be some lemony goodness in the works for the near future. I really hope to keep you all along for the ride! Happy reading =)_

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**Josie's POV**

Jacob must've thought I was a fucking fool.

I'm sure he knew that Bella was going to be at Billy's.

That was probably why he was so adamant about us going…he had some fucking nerve!

As I lay curled up on his lumpy old bed, tears streamed from my eyes, and I trembled, as anger and sadness were my only friends. I replayed in my mind how he'd run to Bella's side like he was her knight in shining armor or something. He'd acted so protective of her, and it wasn't even like she was cut that damn bad. While I stood there and watched him, taking note of the pure love and devotion in his eyes, I realized that my mounting suspicions were on exactly point.

**Jacob ****_was_**** cheating on me**.

Lately, we'd been arguing non-stop. He spent most of his time at the shop or out patrolling, but on the rare occasion that he was at home, there was _never_ any peace. I admit, I usually started things with him, but he deserved every bit of my anger. Even worse, the intimacy between us had dried up like the Sahara! He never looked at me the same, or held me like he used to—not to mention he_ never_ wanted to have sex.

I had a serious gut feeling that something was truly wrong, but I tried to pin his behavior on frustration with our fertility issues. Despite my strong feelings of denial, I was unable to ignore the truth on the night that he'd said _her_ name in his sleep.

It had happened three nights before.

I 'd decided to let him sleep in the bed for a change, but for some reason, I couldn't sleep, and I found myself lying awake for hours. I watched him, studying his features, and I silently prayed that we would have a positive breakthrough in our marriage soon. He looked so peaceful that it warmed my heart. Eventually, I snuggled into him, spooning from behind, and relished his intense warmth.

"Mmm, Bella…" he moaned in response.

Rage instantly rose within me as soon as I realized what he'd just said. His words were just as plain as day.

He'd said_ her_ name!

Bella-his first love.

She was the one he'd once thought he would marry someday.

I felt like a hot knife had sliced through my chest and pierced my heart. Hot tears stung my cheeks, and my chest heaved uncontrollably as I began to hyperventilate. I wanted to slap him with all my might, but I knew that it would hurt me way more than him. In a fit, I flung myself out of bed, trying to suppress the violent urges that were growing within me.

I didn't speak a word to him from that night forward.

_That son of a bitch!_

The following days were filled with hours of crying, minimal sleep, and an endless stream of thoughts and questions. When Jacob was around, however, I pretended like there was nothing wrong. I wasn't ready to confront him just yet.

Looking back at old pictures and thinking of happier times, I reflected on the life that we'd built together. Through tear-filled eyes, I felt hurt to the core while I watched the video recording of us both dressed in all white saying, "I do" and kissing in front of all of our family and friends.

The day we'd gotten married was beautiful beyond my wildest dreams. My mom, several close friends, and I spent six months planning non-stop for what I dubbed as, 'The best wedding La Push has ever seen.' Twelve bridesmaids and their respective groomsmen, dressed in grey and canary yellow, smiled as my father walked me down the aisle. It was something straight from the pages of a fairytale.

My eyes were wet with tears that I refused to let fall as I admired my soon-to-be husband. Jacob wore white from head to toe and looked like an angel from Heaven.

As I watched us kiss, my emotions boiled over, and without thought, I threw the remote at the TV.

All of the promises he'd made to me were lies—pure lies.

What happened to loving, honoring, and cherishing me?

Forsaking all others?

It was _all_ bullshit.

That evening, I called my cousin Dana, spilling out everything.

"How does that prove he's cheating on you, Josie? You know you tend to blow things _way_ out of proportion. It was probably just a stupid dream that didn't mean anything."

"Fuck that, Dana! I know better…" I sucked my teeth, annoyed by her response.

"Stop jumping to conclusions and just talk to him. Jake's a good guy. You could be making something out of nothing, ya know?"

Dana tried to reason with me, but I _knew_ better. It wasn't just a random dream. Jacob was _not_ innocent—I just had to prove it.

It's funny how easily the proof fell in my lap with no effort on my part.

From the moment he ran to Bella's side when she'd cut her foot, I could see the big picture. Even worse, they'd fidgeted nervously like two silly teenagers while we had dinner. I was actually glad that they were sitting beside each other because their guilty mannerisms told it all, and I stared at them the entire time, making my displeasure obvious.

While I studied Bella, I wondered what in the hell Jay could have possibly seen in her. She was just some plain Jane-assed white girl. Boring brown hair, brown eyes, and little white girl lips—nothing fucking special.

When Sue introduced us, I couldn't believe she had the audacity to try to shake my hand. I really wanted to stand up and spit in her face instead.

_How dare this bitch want to shake my hand when she is fucking my husband_?

Feelings of rage seared through my veins as I eyeballed her, and I couldn't wait until I could get Jacob alone to give him a piece of my mind. I was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.

In typical Jacob fashion, he tried to act like nothing was wrong and that I was crazy. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to take off, leaving me stranded at Billy's. After he left, I stood in the driveway for over ten minutes, staring in disbelief with tears streaming down my face.

I hated to go back inside, but I didn't have any other options. I called three different people, hoping someone could come get me, but it was just my luck that no one answered.

"Just great!" I huffed after getting Dana's voicemail for the fifth time in a row.

I tried my best to make myself look presentable before going back inside, but was in no mood to talk to anyone. The next hour was spent lying in Jay's childhood bed, crying and lost in thought. Sue came in twice, and I knew that she meant well, but her interruptions and prying questions only further pissed me off.

I had to get out of there.

When she suggested that Bella give me a ride home, I immediately grinned like a Cheshire cat. Unbeknownst to Sue, it was purely an evil grin. I couldn't think of anything better than having some alone time with Little Miss Bella Swan.

"Umm…yeah…I can take her," Bella stuttered when Sue inquired about giving me a ride.

I suppressed the urge to display another shit-eating evil grin. Bella was visibly uncomfortable with the idea of being alone with me. I guessed what they say is true-a guilty conscience needs no accuser. She wasn't good at concealing her feelings because her body language screamed guilt.

I wasted no time, and said quick goodbyes before we left. Once inside her car, she refused to make eye contact with me.

"Ready?"

"Sure!" I spoke sarcastically with a slight smile, eyeballing her every move.

Her hands trembled while she put on her seatbelt and started up the car. Frowning, I crossed my arms, displaying my obvious disdain for her. I had no respect for that bitch, and although I only had a five-minute window until I got home, I planned to scare the shit out of her.

The first couple of minutes were silent except for my brief directions, and she gulped so many times that I lost count.

"So, I imagine that you've been getting nicely reacquainted with my husband since you're back?" I said icily.

She gulped hard again.

"Umm…I've seen him a few times around and stuff, but you know…" she trailed off.

"No, I don't know."

_Checkmate_.

I made my tone as condescending as possible, intimidating her.

"How about you tell me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"There's nothing to tell," she quipped.

I could clearly see through her attempt to sound innocent.

"Hmm…no need to play coy with me." I paused. "I've been lead to believe otherwise. Now, I'm only going to say this one time, and one time only-"

I paused, looking up as she braked in front of the house.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, and turning to face her, I continued, "Stay the _fuck_ away from my husband!"

Her chest heaved as she stared at me in disbelief.

"This is not a game, Bella! You stay away from him, don't talk to him…don't even fuckin' think about him—"

"Get out!" she screamed, clutching the steering wheel, eyes filled with tears.

I was really taken aback by her bold outburst, and in response, I rolled my eyes at her, belittling her words.

"Like I said…you better stay the fuck away from Jacob Black!"

She glared at me, making a bullshit attempt to stand her ground, but I could tell that she was as soft as a marshmallow. Bella probably wouldn't burst a grape in a food fight.

Calmly and even-toned, I said, "Now you have a good evening."

**BPOV**

I was on an emotional rollercoaster ride from hell after the big confrontation. I felt humiliated, hurt, and a host of other emotions all rolled into one. The tension from the evening had wound my nerves unbelievably tight, causing me to fully admit to myself that I'd been playing with fire, and tonight I'd gotten burnt—just as I had deserved.

As I drove away, Josie's harsh words echoed in my mind. It hurt for me to breathe because lungs burned from all the heavy breathing I'd been doing between the tears. The drive back to Billy's was a blur, and when I pulled into the driveway, I cleaned my face the best I could before going back inside.

I tried not to fumble my words, but failed miserably, as I made up an excuse about feeling sick. I hated to lie, especially since I'm such a terrible liar, but I probably would've had some type of nervous breakdown if I were forced to stay there and pretend to be okay. My story probably wasn't very convincing, but no one openly questioned it.

"You take care, Bella," Billy gave me a concerned expression as we said our goodbyes.

"Sure thing," I smiled weakly.

The drive back to Charlie's house was nothing short of grating, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we arrived at his house. Thankfully he and Sue didn't try to talk about what happened back at Billy's because I was having a hard time trying to mask my emotions as it was.

"Night, Bells. See you tomorrow," Charlie said while getting out.

"We enjoyed you this evening. Let me know when you get home safely? Send me a text message," Sue waved.

I nodded my head, feeling impatient and ready to get away from them. The emotions that followed were uncontrollable. My feelings were like a dam that had been waiting to burst, and overflowing tears blurred my vision during the drive home. I gripped the steering wheel, and my teeth chattered as I let out a series of painful cries. Thankfully it was a straight shot from Charlie's house to mine because I was in no shape to drive.

As my headlights illuminated my grandparent's old house, my heart jumped in my chest. I blinked rapidly, clearing the tears from my eyes, while Jacob stood up from the porch. I cut the engine and sat frozen, contemplating my next move.

This wasn't my sunny and strong Jacob.

His shoulders were slumped, and he stared down at the ground walking like every step hurt more than the last. Just the sight of him made my heart ache even more.

Using my sleeve, I wiped away the wetness from my cheeks and tried to put on a brave face before I got out of the car.

"Bella, honey, I'm sooo sorry," he said, giving me pleading eyes as he pulled into his arms.

My body complied, although my brain screamed at me to run away. His familiar and intense warmth enveloped me. I began to whimper involuntarily as he fingered my hair and gently rubbed my back; for a moment, I felt my worries begin to evaporate. Being with him like this felt so right-it _always_ had—but the logical side of me screamed otherwise. I was wrong, despite my heart's intense yearning for him.

Guilt bubbled to the surface of my conscience.

"You should go," I reluctantly whispered into his chest.

I fought hard not to choke on my bitter words as I tried to pull away from his hold. His usually bright eyes were dark and filled with pain. I'd never seen Jacob look so vulnerable, and my knees began to weaken as I felt overwhelmed by the weight of the situation. Despite the tightening in my chest, I fully broke contact with him, losing his familiar warmth.

"Bella—" he hissed.

"No, just go!" I yelled, my voice filled with pain and anguish.

I didn't intend for my words to come out so harsh, but if I didn't push him away now, it would only hurt more down the line.

I wanted the total opposite—I wanted him to stay and never leave me.

"…but, I—"

I stared at my feet, swallowing back tears. You would've thought that I'd run out of water to produce them as much as I'd cried that evening. Jacob stepped closer, trying to gather me into his arms again, but I held out my hands in front of me, forcing him to keep his distance. I wanted his comforting touch so bad that it hurt, but I knew better.

"You should go," I repeated, refusing to meet his gaze.

The gravel beneath my feet crunched loudly as I trudged passed him, and this time, he made no attempt to stop me. After I stepped onto the porch, I looked over my shoulder, and he was gone. It was like he'd never been there in the first place.

While I fumbled with my keys, Josie's voice popped in my head, and soon I found myself in a hopeless heap on the living room floor as her voice boomed in my head, "You better stay the fuck away from Jacob Black!"

**JPOV **

Thoughts from Embry about Dana, and little chubby-cheeked Luke popped in my mind as I raced through the forest, running full speed. Immediately, my anger overpowered his cushy memories.

_Dude, what the fuck is going on_?

The sound of my heartbeat boomed in my ears and I ignored Embry's question, but I knew he could see everything clearly in my mind. I was so angry that I didn't even make an attempt to block my thoughts. What difference did it make anyway? My life _was_ basically over.

_If Josie didn't kill you after that, then I think you're in the clear. In the meantime, man, you need to phase back…I'm not the only one phased. Of course, if you don't mind airing out your dirty laundry…_

Embry's thoughts stopped me in my tracks, and I phased back on the spot. I hadn't even sensed anyone else within the pack mind.

"Fuck!"

I fumed about how big of a fool I had been when I'd phased in the heat of the moment. It was Embry's shift, so I had no idea who else could've been phased. Quil and Embry were the only people—well, besides Sam—who knew about what was going on. It could've been Seth, Brady, Colin, or Jared. Based on how crappy my life has been lately, it would've been just my luck that the whole damn pack was phased.

Praise the Great Spirits that Leah and Paul had stopped phasing because they would've been the absolute worst people to know…especially, Leah. She and Josie were so buddy-buddy that is was plain annoying, and I had no doubt that Leah would go tell every single thing she'd seen.

Apparently Leah had been already running off at the mouth since Josie said Leah had told her "everything". What this _everything _was, I wasn't sure, but the venom in Josie's words made it clear that she wasn't bluffing. There was no way that Leah could've known about the imprint, _could she_?

The sun was setting overhead which made the temperature drop pretty quick. I wasn't getting cold, but I wasn't exactly eager to walk around the forest in all my naked glory. Going home for clothes was the last thing I was going to do, and showing up on Quil or Sam's doorstep like, "Umm, yeah…can I borrow some pants?" didn't sound like that great of an idea, either.

I walked aimlessly, and I tried my best to block out all thoughts about this evening, but it was pretty damn pointless. I guess that shit about thinking happy thoughts only worked in the movies. While debating what to do next, Embry's wolf ran up with a pair of cutoffs hanging between his jaws.

After I pulled on the shorts, Embry phased back and exclaimed, "You are _officially_ in some deep shit now, man! You were already in it good, but I'd say that you're pretty much a goner now."

I glared at him with clenched fists. I had no intention of hitting him, but I wasn't in the mood for more bullshit.

"Thanks, Captain Fuckin' Obvious…you think so?" I spat.

"Dude, I know so!" he laughed, doubled over holding his stomach. I didn't see what was so funny. "I always knew Josie was a crazy one…you know crazy-crazy…cookoo for cocoa puffs crazy…not the cute crazy, but the stab you in your sleep kinda crazy."

Although I was thankful that he'd brought the shorts, I couldn't stick around for his shitty jokes. He must've caught the hint because his smile quickly disappeared and he made a couple of fake coughs before saying, "Umm…yeah…I couldn't help myself, Jake. Sorry about that, man."

"Sure, sure." I said, starting to walk off.

"Hey, wait. I figured you'd like to know that Seth was phased with me. He saw it all…but don't worry…I used a Beta command on him to keep it hush-hush for now."

I nodded my head, "We'll talk later, Em."

I needed to find Bella. She was my only focus.

Within an hour, I was outside her house. It took me longer than usual to run there since I was in human form, but I still beat her home. I had assumed she wouldn't stick around at Billy's for too long, especially since I'd left Josie there which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Sitting on Bella's old wooden porch swing, I rocked back and forth, thinking about all the times we'd spent on it. It was her grandparent's swing, and I had fixed it up for her when she first moved.

Almost every morning since then, we'd sit out on it before I went to work. She'd sip tea, and I'd have coffee. It had become our little morning tradition, and having Bella in my arms on that little creaky swing was often the highlight of my day. She'd always snuggle under my arm, and we'd talk while watching the sun come up and rock gently until it was time for me to leave.

Tonight there were no warm and fuzzy feelings that usually came with being on the swing. I felt like the most awful person on Earth.

_Bella hates me. _

_Josie hates me._

_Scratch that. She probably already hated me. _

I was getting impatient waiting for Bella to turn up, but I'd be a fool if I called Billy's looking for her, and I'd lost my cell phone when I phased so I had no way to send her a text message or call. I felt like my intestines had been tied in a million knots, and I really hoped she would at least talk to me when she got there. Surely she'd heard Josie's crazy rant outside, and I can't imagine what might've been said after I left. Maybe I should've gone back, but I couldn't stomach the thought of seeing Josie.

Either time was passing extremely slowly, or I was losing my damn mind. Maybe it was both. I rocked back and forth for what felt like an eternity. I ached to see Bella. I just wanted to touch her, hold her in my arms, and let her presence relax me.

This was the most fucked up situation I'd ever been in, and definitely the worst day on record, but having her by my side would somehow make everything just a tiny bit better. I became jittery and anxious, and I silently prayed that she'd be willing to talk to me.

I didn't have a watch but I guessed it to be going on nine when she pulled into the driveway. My heart began hammering in my chest, and I tried my best to calm down before she got out the car.

_Relax, man…relax_, I repeated in my mind.

Jogging over to her, I pulled her tiny frame into my arms, but she didn't embrace me back. Regardless of her tepid response, I felt that special calmness that only she could provide. The good feelings were short lived, though. When I looked in her big brown eyes, all I could see was pure pain. She began sniffling, and her hot tears wet my bare chest. At that moment, I felt the lowest of low. Knowing that I'd hurt Bella made me feel like the ultimate piece of shit, and I pushed back the urge to shed tears of my own.

"You should go," she said, pulling away from me.

I gulped hard, trying my best to find something to say, but nothing came out. The last thing I wanted to do was leave her side, but she made it more than clear that she wanted me to leave.

For a second, I thought that maybe I should grab her and pull her into another hug.

_Do something_, my brain screamed.

Maybe if I refused to leave she would just hear me out.

_Yeah, right_.

That would've only made things worse. I felt like a sick puppy as she walked away, and with each step she took, part of my soul went with her.

Unwelcomed tears dropped from my eyes as I forced myself to walk away.

My next stop was the little red house that I still liked to call home. I stood outside for a few minutes debating if I should go inside. Thankfully, I could only hear one heartbeat inside so I knew that Billy was the only person there.

My truck was still parked out front, so I guessed that Josie must've called Dana or somebody to come get her. The thought of going home still made my stomach churn because I knew that Josie would be more than ready to start World War III. Knowing her, she'd be sitting on the porch with my shotgun or something.

Dad opened the door immediately after the first knock like he'd been right there waiting for me.

"Come on in, son," Billy said before wheeling into the kitchen.

I scanned the living room before sitting down in my favorite chair. It was an old worn out recliner that was probably older than I was; it had been there as far back as I could remember. Before mom died, she'd pull me into her lap and we'd rock while she read books to me, and when I had nightmares, she'd give me warm milk and sing old Quileute songs until I fell asleep.

"Here, take this," Billy said, pushing a glass tumbler of whiskey into my hand.

I'd have to down a whole bottle to get any effect since my metabolism was so high, but I understood his gesture. My old man had always been good at reading into things, so he probably knew that I needed to talk.

I sighed, and took a big gulp. He did the same with his.

"Now before I ask you this, just remember that I'm not here to judge you…" he paused, taking another swig. Staring me square in the eye he asked, "Are you and Bella _messing_ around?"

I winced_._

_He sure did get to the point quick_, I thought, staring down at the ice cubes floating in my drink.

"Honestly?"

He nodded.

_Okay, here goes nothing._

I drew in an extra deep breath before saying, "Dad, it's more than that…it's just…."

I struggled to find my words, but I knew I had to finally come clean.

"You've imprinted on her."

He said it so relaxed. It was a statement—not a question. I snapped my head up, instantly.

"I—"

"How long?" he asked gruffly.

"Remember when she came back…and we had dinner at Charlie's?"

"I see," Billy sighed.

I finished off the rest of my drink, went to the kitchen, and came back with the whole bottle.

"Sam told you?"

_That bastard_.

Billy shook his head.

I was confused.

_If it wasn't Sam, then_…

"I saw how you were earlier…the way you ran in here like a bat outta hell and acted so protective. I could see it all. Hell, I thought you were gonna phase on poor Charlie in the kitchen."

I nodded my head, and took a long gulp straight from the bottle.

"Does she know?"

"Who? Josie?"

I clenched my jaw, my thoughts somehow going to how Bella had forced me away.

"Bella. Have you told her about the wolves and imprinting?"

"No…I haven't really told anybody except for Sam."

_And Quil…and Embry.._.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I felt a tiny buzz from gulping down half the bottle.

"Jake, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life. You've always been responsible, and I know you're stuck in between a rock and a hard place. I trust your judgment, so I trust that you will do what is best. Be true to yourself son, and never forget what's in here," he said, patting his chest. "Be wise."

I shook my head, unable to find a response. I looked him in the eye, hoping he'd see that I understood.

"I'm not trying to rush you off, but I think it's best if you go home now. Josie has called here so many times that I lost count."

"I guess I better be going, then…" I trailed off.

_Going into the damn gates of hell_.

Seeing Josie was the last thing I wanted to do.

"Let me know if you need to talk more," he smiled warmly while I stood up to leave.

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate it."

I gave him a hug, before I took off running into the night.

"Yeah, I think I hear him outside now. I'm gonna go." I heard Josie say.

The wooden steps whined under my weight. You would think Josie must've had supernatural hearing, too, since she'd heard it on the inside. I guessed that she must've been on the phone…probably with, Leah. I shook my head at the thought of how she always told Leah _all_ of our business. It never failed.

Before I could even knock, Josie swung open the door, her head cocked to the side. She radiated raw anger and wore the kind of expression that made me inwardly cringe.

"Hmph!" she groaned, eyeing me from head to toe.

The smell of alcohol hit me. I'd never really known Josie to be much of a drinker except for a few glasses of wine, but based on her slight stagger, she'd had more than a sip.

"You've been drinking?"

"What's it to you?!" she stammered.

I frowned when I noticed a half empty bottle of vodka on the coffee table.

"You went to go see _her_, didn't you?"

I sighed, not knowing what to say.

_This can't be life._

"Didn't you? I know you did! You bastard. You've been fucking her haven't you?" she slurred. "I saw everything...the way you were acting…the way you looked at her! You haven't ever looked at me like that!"

"Jo—"

Cutting me off, she screamed, "You love her don't you?"

I had no idea what to say. I was damned if I told the truth, and damned if I didn't. In retrospect, I know I should've just came clean about everything at that exact moment and left it at that, but I couldn't bring myself to break Josie like that, especially based on her terrible past when it came to heartbreak.

"Josie, sit down," I tried use a calm voice.

_Maybe I should just tell her the truth about everything_.

"You love her! I know you do!" Her eyes bulged, making her look like an unhinged maniac. "Don't lie, Jacob! I know, I know, I know!"

_The L word…again…okay…tell her now? Don't tell her?_

She no longer had a slight slur, and was firing off words fast enough to make my head spin.

"Josie—"

"Don't 'Josie' me! Answer me, Jacob Black!" she shrieked, stabbing me in the chest with her finger.

I backed away from her, but was halted by the door at my back.

"Fine, don't answer me, then!" she rolled her eyes.

Josie stomped away, and soon, the sounds of breaking glass filled the house. I rushed to the kitchen where she stood with a sea of white porcelain at her feet. There was a stack of several plates, saucers, and bowls on the counter.

Josie's expression was even more twisted than before, making her look totally psycho as hell. She picked up another dish and heaved it at the floor. The ear splitting sound filled me with dread as it shattered against the kitchen tile.

She'd officially lost her damn mind.

"Fuck you, Jacob Black!" she yelled, throwing another one, this time closer to my feet.

I stood frozen, seeing red as I realized she was breaking my mom's dishes.

"Fuck you and _her_!" she screamed.

Another dish hit the tile. I began huffing like a mad man, and my wolf was thrashed inside trying to take over.

"Are those…" I paused, swallowing hard. "…Are those my mom's dishes?"

I clenched my fists hoping to God that she'd say no.

"You think I give a fuck, Jacob?" she screamed, hurling a teacup at the floor.

She stopped suddenly with a plate in hand, and it seemed like she was in deep thought. Averting her gaze from the floor, she looked up at me, and in a very pained, yet even voice, she asked, "You imprinted on her…didn't you?"

My mind went blank and I started mumbling like a kid trying to explain to his mom.

"You did?!" she screamed.

I stared blankly, still unable to speak.

_She knows_.

Guilt and shame railroaded me like a freight train, and my anxiety spiked. I was seconds away from phasing, but I fought with all my might to calm down.

"Yes," I whispered.

Time felt frozen while I watched her scream and cry hysterically. With both hands, she slammed down the last plate and marveled at the impact like she was hypnotized by the impact.

The crash of it mirrored the feelings I had inside. The connection I had with Josie had officially broken into a million pieces.

We'd passed the point of no return.

It was over.

* * *

_A/N: Ahhh! I had to go there...yes, Josephine is crazy! Poor Jacob...especially since she didn't start off this way when they got together. *sigh* I guess that's why she's not "the one"?_


	12. Confessions

_A/N: I know...I know...it's been a week since you got an update. I apologize for the wait time, but the chapters probably will come at about a once a week pace now that I'm having to actively write them and edit. I had written all of the chapters prior to this one months before I began posting this fic. I generally know how everything will work out from this point forward, it's just a matter of getting it all down...don't forget to factor in my work schedule and classes that I'm taking. I really hope you all are enjoying this fic thus far, because I'm really enjoying the writing process, and I'm especially enjoying reading all of your reviews! Thanks so much to each and every single one of you who have taken out the time to leave a review, and I encourage to leave your honest opinions, comments, or questions after reading the following chapter. Thanks, again!_

* * *

_3 weeks later…_

**BPOV**

I was jolted from sleep by the obnoxiously loud ringing of the phone. Through blurry eyes, I almost bumped into a wall as I shuffled into the living room, and I squinted my eyes because the sun was shining so bright through sheer curtains. Groggily, I answered, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello," I groaned.

"Good Morning!"

Renee was beaming like she'd had a few rounds of coffee.

"Umm…g'morning, Mom."

"Perk up, Bella. Were you still asleep?"

"Something like that," I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be such a Debby Downer, Bella. It's your birthday!"

I smacked my forehead. _Of course_.

_Who forgets their own birthday? Yes, of course, I do_.

"Happy Birthday!" she repeated.

"Thanks, mom," I said, trying to sound somewhat cheerful.

I'd never been one to make a big fuss over birthdays. On top of that, I felt like a sack of crap. I'd been experiencing some serious insomnia for the past few weeks, and last night was definitely no different. Hour after hour, I'd lay in bed, unable to turn off the endless stream of thoughts running through my mind.

Renee burst into her own special rendition of the Happy Birthday song before she gave me her yearly birthday speech.

"Bella, the day you were born was and still _is_ the best day of my life. I can't believe it's been twenty-five years since I first laid eyes on you. You were just the cutest baby with those big brown eyes! I'm so proud of the woman you've become, and although I couldn't be there for the big opening today, I know it'll be great…"

She continued talking non-stop in typical Renee fashion for several minutes.

"I love you, honey. I know you have a big day ahead, so I won't hold you up much longer."

"I love you, too, mom." I smiled, my heart genuinely warmed by her words.

"Oh, and one more thing!"

_Here we go_.

She always did that before the end of a conversation. Usually she'd say "one more thing" which would translate into ten more things.

"Tell Charlie I said hello."

"Will do, mom."

"Oh and just one last thing before I forget!"

I glanced at the clock and noted that it was fifteen minutes 'til seven. While Renee rambled on about how her painting lessons were going, I made my daily cup of tea, and tried to remember all the things that I needed to do before leaving home. Renee stayed on the line for another ten minutes, and if I hadn't insisted that I needed to be getting ready, she probably would've talked for another thirty minutes, if not longer.

Within an hour, I was dressed and parked outside the store. I was filled with a sense of pride when I looked up at the sign: A Novel Idea, Book Nook and Coffee. It was a little after eight, which gave me a couple of hours until opening time at ten. The day was uncharacteristically bright and sunny for Forks weather, and I took that as a sign of a good day ahead.

For the past few days, I'd been working around the clock getting everything set up and putting finishing touches on the store. Charlie and Sue came by several times and lent me a hand, which I had really appreciated, because I'd just about chewed down every bit of my fingernails. I'd become stretched so thin from worry and angst that small tasks like setting up book displays and making table arrangements was incredibly nerve-wracking.

When I wasn't stressing about the big opening, I was trying my best not to think about Jacob. Every day I'd wake up with him on my mind, which meant that I spent the rest of the day trying to rid myself of all thoughts of him.

To say the days that followed the big blow up at Billy's were awful would be an understatement to say the least. Jacob called around the clock and left messages until my voicemail inbox was full. Ignoring him was one of the hardest things that I'd ever done, but I'd made up my mind to erase him from my life totally. I'd just pick up and carry on like nothing ever happened.

Night after night, I'd try my best to stop thinking about him, but to no avail. Three weeks had passed, and I'd probably averaged about four hours of sleep a night. Even when I'd manage to stifle my thoughts and drift off, vivid nightmares terrorized me.

I ached to see Jacob, but I wasn't _that_ type of woman. I refused to be that stupid idiot—running behind a married man. No matter how much I reminded myself of this, I was like a mindless moth attracted to a light bulb. You'd think that I'd learned my lesson after getting burned the first time. Instead, with every passing day, my yearning for him only grew.

**JPOV**

I felt like the biggest idiot on fucking Earth.

Scratch that.

I _was_ the biggest idiot on Earth.

When the imprint happened, I could've handled things totally different. Instead of acting on it, I could've forced it away.

_Oh yeah—tried that_.

Better yet, I could've told Josie the truth right when it happened. It would've hurt her, but maybe she would've understood that it was a wolf thing that was beyond my control. Maybe she would've screamed her head off, put me out, and never talked to me again. At least I wouldn't have been in this extremely fucked up situation that I'm in now.

But, no…I just had to be the brainless idiot who gave into the imprint almost immediately. I didn't think twice about sneaking behind Josie's back to be with Bella. All those mornings I'd get up at the ass crack of dawn and spend time with Bella before work, I barely felt any guilt. Not to mention the flirty text messages and little phone calls throughout the day that lead to night after night of spending time with Bella when Josie thought I was out on patrols.

Although I knew that Bella felt bad about everything, she fell into my arms with little to no effort, but I'd let it happen. All those deep conversations, super hot make out sessions, and all…I let it happen.

It was all me being an impulsive idiot.

I'd left the night of Josie's monstrous tantrum and hadn't been back to my so-called home since. I'd set up camp at my dad's, and thankfully he fully supported my decision. Josie and I had only talked once since I had told her about the imprint; she'd called to say that if I didn't announce our plans to divorce at the next council meeting then she would. I honestly didn't give a shit either way. When it came to my feelings toward Josie and our marriage, I was just numb.

"It's time for you to get your head out of your ass, Jacob…time for you to do something about all of this mess with Bella."

Sam glared at me, wearing his usual stone-faced expression.

"No shit, Sherlock."

I'd never been extra friendly with Sam, but he'd become my go-to person to talk about my whole situation. I trusted his opinion, not because he was some relationship expert, but since he'd dealt with this same exact thing, I figured he could offer better insight than either of my best friends.

Embry's imprint was normal.

_Well, in imprint terms, anyway_.

Quil's wasn't necessarily normal considering Claire was still a child, but he'd never dealt with love triangles, loony wives, etc.

"She's still not talking to you?"

I frowned.

"Nope. I've called her so much that she probably thinks that I'm a creep."

Sam cracked a smile, which was sort of rare.

_What's so funny_?

"You became a creep when you started sleeping outside of her house every night. I'm just saying, man…" he laughed.

It had been exactly twenty-two days since _that _night and Bella hadn't spoken to me since.

After three days, I'd become so on edge about being away from her that I resorted to sleeping outside her house in wolf form. I thought it would be just a one-time thing, but I found myself there, night after night. Every night she'd toss and turn like a mad woman so I guess it was safe to assume she wasn't getting much rest, either.

I couldn't help but laugh at Sam's point.

I was officially Jacob, the shape shifting werewolf creep.

I sighed.

"Whatever. I've made up my mind…I'm going by her house today. If I have to beg for her to listen, then I guess I'll be one begging ass."

"You're one sick puppy…"

That was an understatement. I was in a haze every single day from the time I woke up until I fell asleep outside Bella's house. There was always more than enough work around the garage, but it was never enough to keep my mind off of her.

Long before wolves and imprint magic, I thought that Bella was the only one for me. Even though she never came back after that summer that I fell in love, my feelings never faded…I just had to pack them away.

Even without the imprint, just the thought of hurting her made me feel like the worst person on Earth.

I had to get her back.

…..

It was a little after seven when she came home that evening. I'd been sitting on the porch swing waiting for roughly an hour, and I became nervous as hell when I saw her pull into the driveway.

_Okay, it's now or never_, I thought, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

The scene was playing out just like it had on that night she sent me away, and I had to force away the negative feelings that tried to cloud up my head.

Bella sat in her car for several minutes before getting out, and I stood at the bottom of the steps as she slowly trudged toward me while staring at her feet.

"Bells, before you say anything, can you just hear me out?" I pleaded, shoving my hands into my pockets.

Her eyes met mine for the first time since she'd stepped out of the car, and I saw nothing but pain and anguish in them. She bit her bottom lip before giving a slight nod. I hadn't really expected her to accept my request so easily.

Stepping past me, Bella headed up the steps, and barely above a whisper she said, "Come in…"

"I'll be back in a few…" she trailed off, while walking toward her bedroom.

I decided to go ahead and take a seat on the couch and wait. Time was passing so slowly, and I got more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. I couldn't hear her making any movements, so for all I knew, she was in there contemplating how to shoot me without consequence. I quickly scrapped that idea and realized how stupid it was once I thought about how nervous Bella had been that one time that I'd taken her on a date to a shooting range.

I must've gotten pretty lost in my thoughts because I didn't even hear her when she came into the room.

"…You came to talk, so…talk."

She sat across from me on the loveseat with her fingers threaded together in her lap. Usually, I could read Bella like a book, but today was different, and this fact made me feel even more unnerved.

I cleared my throat—twice.

"Bells…" I paused, trying to decide where to start, what to say, and how to say it.

_Shit_.

"Umm…" _Maybe I should've prepared a little better for this_. "Bells, look…" I cleared my throat again; I was as nervous as a pig in a bacon factory. "I know you probably hate me…hell, I'd hate me too if I were you, but…I hope you'll give me a chance and hear me out. All I ask is that you try to understand what I'm saying…okay?" I looked at her with pleading eyes, hoping that what I was saying wasn't falling upon deaf ears.

A light nod was the only response she offered.

"You know that I'm not some great poet or whatever, and it's not like I had everything I'm going to say pre-mapped out, but I hope you believe me when I say that I'm being one hundred percent honest with you…" I paused, closed my eyes, and took a really deep breath. "Bells, what happened a few weeks ago…I'm truly sorry for. I'm sorry that you had to experience the things you did, I'm sorry that I hurt you…I'm just all around sorry, and I'll go to the end of this world and back to prove to you just how sorry I am."

Taking another deep breath, I continued, "I know I'm sounding pretty damn pathetic right now…just bare with me, okay?"

"Mm'kay…" she whispered, while crossing her arms.

"How about I tell you a story first? Is that okay?"

Bella tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth, "Yeah, guess so…"

It's not like I expected her to be all rainbows and sunshine, but it really crushed me that Bella was so nonchalant toward me. On the other hand, the way that she'd tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth made me temporarily lose focus. Somehow that small gesture always turned me on when she did it.

_Get it together, man_.

"Okay, story time I guess…" I took another much-needed deep breath.

"Umhm…" she nodded lightly.

"Remember that time I told you about my family lineage and about Ephraim Black…the chief? My dad's grandfather…my great grandfather?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, when Ephraim was a young chief, he was in love with this woman—let's just call her Jude for the sake of the story. Many of the mothers prepped up their daughters over the years in hopes that one day they'd be chosen by the great chief for marriage. So…anyway, Ephraim long had his eye on Jude, and they began a courtship with plans to marry in the spring. Spring comes…right? Ephraim has to take a trip to the Makah reservation for some type of tribal thing…I don't know…but he goes up there and laid eyes on Martha—the lady who ended up being my great grandmother—and it was pretty much love at first sight, I guess. I don't know the details, but getting to the point…he knew that in the few days he'd spent with Martha, that he'd fallen in love with her and that she was his one and only true love, but he couldn't bare the idea of breaking Jude's heart. He admitted to Martha that he had a bride waiting for him at home and she pushed him away… "

Bella continued toying with the hem of her shirt, avoiding eye contact, but she seemed to be listening, so I continued, "On his last night at the Makah rez, Ephraim had a dream direct from the Great Spirits that told him that Martha was, indeed, meant to be his bride, and not Jude. Martha was the chosen one…not Jude. It was a big mess, but in the end, Ephraim knew what he had to do…"

Bella stared at me, her eyes full of longing, and I wanted to scoop her into my arms and hug her with all my might, but she'd probably reject me.

"Okay…?"

"Bells…I'm not perfect. I've never professed to be…even though some people hold me up on such a high pedestal. I'm not this golden child that everybody wants me to be just because I'm the son of Billy Black and the great-grandchild of Ephraim Black. I'm just me…the guy who fell madly in love with his best friend over ten years ago. I'm the guy who dreamed about you for years…the guy who feels like a silly kid with butterflies in his stomach whenever you come around. I'm the guy who has been sneaking around behind his wife's back, despite knowing how incredibly wrong it is. I'm the guy who will feel like his world has come to an end if he can't have you in his life…"

I blinked back tears, feeling more vulnerable than I'd ever felt in my life, "I refuse to lose you."

"Jake!"

Bella was on the verge of tears, and the last thing I wanted to do was make her cry.

"Please don't cry," I whispered.

Bella hiccupped a couple times like she was trying to force back tears that were threatening to fall at any second, "I'm not…it's just…it's just…"

I couldn't take it any longer—I got up and pulled her into my arms before she could protest, and brought her onto the couch with me, cuddling her into my chest.

While stroking her hair, I continued, "I know this sounds crazy, but I know that you and I are meant to be. I just know it, and I can't bear to hurt you any more than I already have. I was wrong, and if I have to apologize for it every day for the rest of my life, I will, Bells. I will…"

She cried softly with her face buried in my chest.

"But…but…"she hiccupped, "but what about—"

I cut her off before she could finish.

"I can't deny it…everything is a mess…a huge mess that I'm taking full responsibility for. Bella, you and I are meant to be. I feel it in my soul. I need you in my life…not want, but need…like the air I breathe, Bella. I need you in my life. I can't lose you…" I was on the verge of tears myself.

"This is wrong, Jacob…I can't do this," she sniffled, "I can't come between you two. I can't break up a marriage!" She forced her way out of my arms and was running out of the room before I could even think of what to say next.

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_A/N: I know this one was kind of emotional...I'm sorry! I'm trying to keep everything pretty realistic and not fairytale-like. I can say that the upcoming chapters should be much brighter, and a tad lemony! Thanks for reading, and once again, I encourage you to drop me a quick review. _


	13. Ice Cream & Apple Pie

_A/N: I got a huge burst of inspiration, and have been writing my butt off all evening, and here I present the fruits of my labor. I figured I wouldn't get around to posting a new chapter until Monday or Tuesday of next week, so I'm really excited that I was able to get this one so quickly. On top of that, it's of pretty decent length-over 5k words to be exact! I will admit, however, that it was not beta'd and I'm the only person who proofread it, so there may be some random errors here and there. I apologize for that ahead of time, I was just so excited about getting this one posted. I will come back tomorrow and reread it a couple more times to clean up any errors that may remain. So without further ado..._

* * *

**BPOV**

"I want you on top of me," I moaned, brushing my lips against Jacob's ear.

He let out a throaty groan, and within the blink of an eye, he'd honored my request. Rapid sparks of pleasure danced down my spine as I took in the sight of _my_ Jacob, shirtless and showing off his perfectly crafted physique.

Things between us had drastically changed in just a few hours. I'd shed more than my fair share of tears, and I easily became overwhelmed by all of the raw emotion coming from Jacob while he professed his love for me. The way he'd held me, stirred up so many conflicting emotions, and before I knew it, I'd pulled away from him and ran into my bedroom. I'd slammed the door and threw myself into bed, sobbing and sniffling—my composure at an absolute minimum.

Only moments passed before Jacob was standing on the other side of the door.

"Bells, are you okay in there?"

I couldn't seem to talk through my retching sobs.

"Honey…can I come in?"

His voice was coarse and filled with pain.

_Is he…crying?_

"No…just give me," I gulped hard to swallow back tears, "…just give me a minute…okay?"

I had been in denial for so long about just how _deep_ my feelings were for this man. My heart yearned for him constantly, and being with him was like having my own personal slice of Heaven on Earth. I'd never felt so strongly about anyone before; I'd never felt so complete until Jacob stepped into my world.

Falling for him was so easy…so natural. It wasn't like love at first sight—_I don't believe in that, anyway_—we were like kindred spirits. Everything just fit. Our friendship from all those years ago seemingly blossomed overnight into a beautifully twisted love affair. The only thing was…it didn't feel like an affair, a fling, or some type of short-lived burst of lust. It was deeper than that…much deeper.

I laid down and pulled myself into the fetal position. I was unable to relax my thoughts. _No surprise there. _The only thing I wanted—no, needed—was Jacob's comfort.

Somehow, I was able to drift off, and before I knew it, I was being greeted by the gentle voice of a stranger.

"What is in your heart, Bella?"

My dark surroundings suddenly became filled with a strong glow of the sun setting in the distance. The landscape was rather flat with no trees in sight; the grass was the greenest of green and it was peppered with little white flowers here and there. Nothing about this place was familiar.

In the blink of an eye, a woman appeared. Something about her was oddly familiar—her waist length hair was in a single braid that easily flowed far beyond her shoulders, and her skin was a beautifully rich russet tone. She was mesmerizing to say the least.

"Take my hand," her voice was as sweet as fresh honey.

I followed without any hesitation. It was like my feet were commanded by the tone of her voice. An ultimate feeling of relaxation surrounded me, and I felt calmer in that moment, than I'd ever felt in my life.

She walked ahead, pulling me by the hand. _Who is this woman? She looks so familiar. Where am I? _She must've read my mind because she glanced over her shoulder and smiled, "You must not worry yourself. Your only duty is to follow as I lead the way."

We walked in silence together until out of nowhere, we were standing on a beach. The sun glowed in a picturesque way on the water, and I marveled at the beauty of it all. My leader stopped and stared me in the eye for several moments. Despite how uncomfortable I probably should've felt, I felt nothing but happiness and genuine inner-peace.

"What is in your heart, Bella?"

I stood there frozen, unable to formulate a response.

Out of nowhere the wind started whipping around us, chilling me to the bone. I began to feel a sensory overload as an intense, yet familiar, scent filled the air, and I inhaled deeply to take in more. A unique woodsy scent filled me with delight.

"Close your eyes," the lady instructed.

I followed her command without hesitation. She began speaking slowly in a language that I couldn't understand, but she finished by saying, "Open your heart, open your mind, open your spirit, and comfort shall fill you."

Tears rushed to my eyes, and I blinked repeatedly as I opened them.

Standing before me was a huge animal of mythical proportion. It was a wolf—larger than any I'd ever seen several times over. Somehow, I was not the least bit afraid. I stood in silence as I studied the unique russet color of its fur and the gentle nature of its eyes. I was in awe, and I did not move.

The woman whispered, "Bella, your destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. Be wise."

Streams of tears ran down my face as her words resonated deep within my spirit, stirring up strong emotions. I remained frozen staring at the wolf, unable to avert my gaze. It bowed its head and me, and I smiled in response.

Without warning, everything began to fade into darkness. My wolf disappeared, the lady disappeared and my beautiful surroundings were sucked into dark abyss.

"Bella! Wake up, honey!"

I clenched my eyes tight, feeling disoriented. Soon, I was enveloped in Jacob's wonderful warmth, blinking back the last few tears I had left.

"Honey, are you okay? You were calling out, 'no, no, no, don't go'…I didn't know what was going on. Were you having a bad dream?" Jacob's genuine concern warmed my heart, and I felt incredibly safe in his arms.

Immediately I remember everything that had happened…the beautiful nameless woman, the beach, and the wolf. Although it was just a dream, everything she said had taken root deep within me.

"I'm okay, Jake…I'm okay."

I snuggled into his chest, and relished in his natural woodsy scent.

"Jacob…"

"Yeah?"

"Jacob, I—"

I paused and tried to build up some courage while a million and one butterflies swirled in my stomach. I looked up at him, staring into his eyes and said, "Jacob, I love you…I'm in love with you," I confessed.

He must've been holding his breath because he let out a long exhale, then he lit up the room with one of his signature Jacob smiles.

"I love you, too, Bella."

Soon, his lips were on mine, and I yielded to their softness, allowing him to give me more of his tongue. Warmth filled me from the unreal flow of emotion between us. Laced with gentle passion, the intensity of our kissing grew, as did my desire.

Jacob paused, then he kissed me twice on the forehead and stared into my eyes while cradling me in his arms.

"Bella…I know this is crazy and probably not the best timing and all, but…" he smirked, "…I'm really hungry."

_Typical Jacob_, I thought, and soon we were both howling with laughter.

**JPOV**

"Bella, Bella, Bella…my favorite chef!" I puckered my lips and did an exaggerated fingertip kiss like an Italian chef.

Bella had heated up leftover chicken Alfredo that she'd made the night before, and my stomach growled like I hadn't eaten in years as I inhaled all that creamy cheesy goodness. As soon as she sat my plate down, I was going to town!

"I swear…you're like a human disposal the way you put away food," Bella smiled while winding some pasta on her fork.

I just nodded; my mouth was stuffed with fresh garlic bread.

After getting two more helpings of Alfredo, I finally felt somewhat full. I exaggeratedly rubbed my stomach and said, "Mmm, mmm, good!"

"You're such a dork!"

This was the first time I'd felt genuinely happy in a while, and it felt so good for us to be able to enjoy each other's company. Like old times, it was just us—Jake and Bells.

"So, what's for dessert?"

"I have a couple slices of apple pie in the fridge…I think I have some ice cream, too…sound okay?"

I reached across the table for her hand, and in typical Bella fashion, she blushed like I was Prince Charming in the flesh.

"Before we get to dessert, I have a little something for you. Grab a coat since it's chilly out."

Bella raised an eyebrow, "I guess I'll be a good sport," she grumbled sarcastically.

A few minutes later, I was pulling her out onto the porch.

"Sit," I motioned toward the swing.

"Jacob Ephraim Black…what are you up to?"

I sat beside Bella and wrapped my arm around her to bring her even closer. She snuggled into me like she always does, and wrapped her arms around my stomach.

I gave her a peck on the forehead, "You know, I didn't forget today was your birthday, right?"

I glanced at my watch, "I have two hours left, so I guess I better make this good, shouldn't I?"

"Jake…" she groaned, "…you know I don't care much about birthdays. I'm just glad to see another year, but it's nothing to make a big fuss about."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I got you a little something, anyway. I really hope you like it."

"You shouldn't have, really…you shouldn't have," Bella squeezed me.

"Oh, hush, woman!" I joked.

I reached into my pant's pocket, pulled out a little black velvet bag, and pushed it into her palm.

Bella's eyes grew and she looked genuinely amazed when she pulled out the bracelet.

"Oh, wow, Jake! I love it…did you make this?"

She ran her fingers across the small carved wolf that dangled from the silver chain.

"Yeah, I've been working on it for a while now. You really like it?"

"I love it!" Bella held out her wrist for me to put it on. She smiled with a twinkle in her eye like I'd given her the world on silver platter.

_YES! _

Billy had taught me how to do little carvings and stuff when I was a kid, but I never really got into it like he was. When I'd asked Bella what she wanted for her birthday, and she insisted that I not buy her anything, I thought long and hard on what I could get her that I technically didn't buy.

It took me about three weeks to carve the charm, and I couldn't have been happier while I watched her ooh and ahh over my handy work.

"I think we'd better be getting inside soon since it's pretty cold out here, but before we go back in, I just wanted to say that…being on this little swing with you…well…this is my favorite place to be with you. When we're out here rocking and stuff, I feel like it's just you and me, just Jake and Bells…" _Ahh!_ _I'm sounding like such a girl._ "The point is, I love you, and from here on out…it's going to be just you and me…unless you decide to give me away or something…which would suck by the way," I made an exaggerated frown before leaning down to kiss her smiling lips.

"Now let's get back inside."

"I think I'm going to light a fire…it's getting really chilly in here," Bella announced after we walked back inside.

I didn't feel all that cold because of the wolf thing and all, but it was much colder than a typical September night should've been. No surprise there—this was Forks that we're talking about here.

"Need some wood?" I gave her a devilish grin.

"No, sir, I do _not_—thank you very much," she rolled her eyes before licking her tongue out at me.

Soon, Bella had a big blazing fire going, and she'd laid out a bunch of pillows and a blanket in front of the fireplace. It looked like a cozy scene from one of those home interior catalogs.

After she got everything set up, I helped her fix our desserts. She did all the work while I played with the ice cream scoop and stole kisses every chance I got.

We sat Indian-style in front of the fireplace with one big bowl of ice cream and two slices of warm apple pie.

"You tired?" She asked.

"Sorta, it's been a pretty long day…are you?"

Sleep was the last thing on my mind.

"Yeah, but I'm not quite ready for bed, yet."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…" she nibbled at her bottom lip, "…stay with me tonight?"

"Of course, Bells. Whatever you want," I gave her a quick peck on her lips and then her nose.

She responded by dipping her spoon into the ice cream and tapping it on my nose. Before I could react, she'd pushed our bowl to the side, kissed the tip of my nose and licked away the ice cream.

Bella pulled back a little and smiled wickedly, which sent my mind into overdrive. It was only a matter of seconds before I pulled her back to me, and pressed my lips onto hers. She let out a gasp followed by the sexiest moan ever, and I instantly felt throbbing against the zipper of my jeans.

I pushed my tongue into her mouth, and savored the sweet vanilla ice cream that lingered. In one smooth motion, I moved my legs and she straddled my lap. _FUCK_! Bella was going to be the death of me. Sexual tension was pumping through my veins, and my wolf was more anxious than ever to fully claim her.

"Off," she groaned sexily, tugging my shirt upwards. The fire in that one single word drove made my head swim. Timid Bella was on vacation, and this wild woman had rolled into town. I didn't waste any time pulling off my shirt and throwing it across the room. _Off _is what she wanted, and _off _is what she got.

"I want you on top of me," she moaned.

Christ! Bella was literally driving me insane. She sounded so damn sexy, and I quickly flipped her onto her back like my life depended on it. I let out an unexpected groan as I hovered above her and studied her pure beauty. The way that her hair splayed over the pillows and the way that she smiled at me made my arms feel wobbly like Jell-O.

Slowly, I began trailing my fingers down her sides at an achingly slow pace. Despite the fact that I was practically dying to be inside of her, I refused to give in to my own urges. Tonight was going to be all about her pleasure, and physically showing her just how much I loved her.

The dim light from the fire made it seem like a scene straight from a movie.

"I love you," I whispered before lowering myself to meet her delicious lips.

_God_!

Her lips were perfect like they were made only for me.

Breaking the kiss, I traced her jawline with my nose before moving to her neck to further tease her.

"I think…you're…a. little…overdressed…Ms. Swan," I whispered between kisses on her neck.

Her eyelids fluttered, and I took that as a good sign. I couldn't stop from grinning like kid on Christmas morning! I deliberately moved her shirt up painfully slow, and left kisses on every little bit of exposed skin as I moved it up over her stomach. I stared up at Bella to see her biting that bottom lip again, and for what must've been the millionth time that night, I thought I was going to freaking explode.

"This has got to go," I teased, dragging my fingers over the lace material of her bra.

By this point, my heart was hammering in my chest a mile a minute, and my mouth was watering at the thought of running my tongue across those nipples and sucking them until she basically begged me to stop.

I wanted to give myself a pat on the back after I got her bra undone on the first try. She helped me along by sliding the straps down her arms, and in one quick motion, I'd gotten rid of the whole thing.

As much as I wanted to get my mouth on those little hard nipples of hers, I could no longer ignore the throbbing down below. Bella must've read my mind because she began fumbling around trying to undo my jeans. Even the way she huffed in frustration was sexy, and I laughed while giving her a little help.

Bella gasped and covered her mouth like she was in genuine shock when I pushed both my pants and my underwear down in one smooth motion. I couldn't help but to smirk at her reaction to seeing Little Jake for the first time.

"I think it's a Quileute thing," I joked, nodding my head south.

She cracked a cute smile and in that sexy seduction voice she moaned, "Kiss me."

This time, she kissed me like she had something to prove, and I swear that sparks were flying like it was the fourth of July. She fisted my hair with a decent grip, but I felt no pain—only pleasure. In the meantime, I busied myself with getting her pants off, and soon they joined the rest of our clothes across the room.

This was my wildest wet dream come true…Bella in nothing but her cute little panties, panting and moaning. _Somebody pinch me because I know I'm dreaming_! I was totally taken by surprise when she grabbed a hold of me and began a slow stroke.

"Is this okay? Am I doing it right?" She bit her bottom lip, that timid side showing up for the first time in a while.

"You're perfect," I hissed, then latched onto one of those lovely nipples of hers.

She squirmed and panted as I took my time and explored every inch of her body with my tongue.

"God, you're _so_ wet for me," I groaned when I felt wetness through her panty-covered pussy.

Somebody could've stuck a fork in me because I was officially done for.

**BPOV**

Was this perfection? I swear it felt like it.

The way that Jacob treated my body was nothing short of amazing, and I was practically melting beneath him while he kissed me all over. He made a trail of kisses literally from head to toe, lingering in certain spots, effectively driving me crazy.

I admit that I was a little intimidated by his…size, but I couldn't wait until I had it all.

My mind was so fuzzy from all the pleasure; I didn't even notice him sliding off my panties. Jacob literally had me on cloud nine.

"Raise your hips a little," he whispered, and I complied with hesitation.

Quickly, he slipped a pillow underneath my butt, and I wasn't sure why he did this, nor did I care.

Seconds later, Jacob was hovering over me, stroking my cheeks while giving me the kind of kisses that were straight from my dreams, and I thought that I might literally stroke out when I felt the tip of his length against my entrance.

So here we were, laid out on my living room floor on a sea of pillows…fire going…sexy dim lighting—the whole nine. All of the sexual tension that had been brewing for months was ready to explode at any moment, and I blurted out, "Oh my God!"

Jacob looked perplexed, "Huh?"

"You don't happen to have any…" I gulped, trying to force out the word, "…condoms?"

_Way to kill the freaking mood, Bella_!

Jacob gulped, "No…I don't just keep condoms handy like that…and I had no idea that…well…you know?"

I winced.

"I'm not on any type of birth control, and…" I felt like such a buzz kill in that moment. "Well, you know…we probably shouldn't take any chances," I kept rambling, "It's not that I don't trust you or anything, but you know…I just…"

Jacob gulped again. "Umm, I can go to the store and be back in like ten…fifteen minutes tops…"

"There's one problem with that idea," I paused, "It's probably like midnight now, right? Nothing is open this late in Forks."

We both groaned in unison, and I swear I wanted to kick myself for not thinking of this before. Why hadn't I been better prepared? They say that women are supposed to keep condoms around just in case, but I never thought that would apply to me of all people! Besides the little fooling around we'd done over the past couple months, I hadn't done anything remotely sexual in like two years.

I don't know why, but I reached down and grabbed him. The way that he groaned was so sexy, and I studied his contorted facial expression while moving my fist along his pulsing length.

His body tensed.

"I want you inside…of me," I whispered, unsure of where my confidence came from.

Soon, his expert fingers found there way between my folds and he stroked me ever so slowly, paying extra special attention to my clit. Although his fingers felt incredible, I wanted him so bad—I wanted the whole nine yards, the cherry on top—I wanted full and complete satisfaction.

Taking it a step further, Jacob went to work using his magical tongue on me. I teetered on the brink of insanity as I thrust my hips toward his waiting lips. It was even better than I remembered, and I felt an orgasm brewing within minutes. Jacob molded his hands to my hips and forced me closer to the point of no return.

I clenched my eyes tight together as I gave in to the impending flood of overwhelming sensations. The world moved in slow motion around me, and it was like every single cell in my body begged for release. Suddenly, I lost total control, surrendering myself fully to multiples waves of an explosive climax.

"I want you so bad," I panted.

"Say it again," his voice was ragged.

I complied, and once again, I gripped his length, rubbing the tip across my slick folds. My head was spinning from the amazing sensation of skin against skin. Jacob's hips jerked, and we both tensed as he parted my lips and found his way to my entrance.

"I think we better stop," Jacob gave me pleading eyes.

Overwhelming feelings of desire boiled over within me. Without second thought, I scooted down and pushed my hips forward, letting him glide into me just a tiny bit. It felt so good—too good to stop—and I trembled with anticipation.

I craved more of him-all of him.

Jacob exhaled hard, and with a huge burst of courage, I wrapped my legs around him and crossed my ankles on his back, pulling us even closer.

"Christ, Bella!" he breathed. "You're gonna be the death of me."

I couldn't deny him any longer.

"Make love to me."

A thick haze of sexual desire surrounded us, and within seconds, Jacob's lips were on mine. I was fully intoxicated by him, and my toes literally curled as he gently thrust his hips forward, slowly entering me inch by inch.

"You're so beautiful," his words sent warm sensations straight to my heart.

My breath hitched in my throat, and I'd literally felt like I'd lost my mind as I gave myself to Jacob.

"Honey, are you okay?" he paused.

All I could do was nod my head and tighten my legs around him. He began to roll his hips in circles as he stroked…literally stirring up intense pleasure within me. I rocked against him as entered me fully, making us two halves of a whole.

Ragged breathing mingled with an assortment of moans and groans filled the air around us, but my sole focus was Jacob. With each powerful thrust, he pushed me a tiny bit closer toward a climax that was just out of my grasp. It was a delicious torture that made time stand still.

"Honey, I better slow down," he panted, and in the exact moment, I found myself grasping and clawing for anything that I could take hold of. With each stroke, intense sparks of electricity surged through my body, and I threw back my head, giving in to the all consuming energy of my climax. Jacob's whole body became rigid, and I watched in awe as he jerked simultaneously with the aftershocks of my orgasm. I was blanketed with an indescribable warmth while he pressed his lips to mine as we came down from that ultimate high.

If there was a such thing as perfection, this was it.

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_A/N: So as you know, this is my very first fic...like EVER! The point is, I've never written a lemon before in my life, thankfully I had someone point me in the direction of Smut University produced by Project Team Beta, so I'm hoping that it was satisfactory. I'm sure that I have room for improvement, so that's where you come in-drop me a honest review in the comments or PM me, I'd really appreciate it! For those of you who've already left reviews, I truly appreciate it. I look forward to reading them after every chapter I post. _


	14. The Day After

_A/N: Once again, I've completed a chapter before my own set deadline! I think I'm on a roll here. This chapter practically wrote itself...I thought I was going to write a few sentences, and before I knew it, I'd completed over 8 pages worth of material. Keep in mind that there may be a few minor spelling and grammatical errors (I hope not, though) since I don't currently have a Beta, and I'm the only person who proofread. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I really hope you take the time and drop me an honest review once you're finished. Happy reading! =)_

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**JPOV**

I'm not sure what happened, but somehow, someway…I'd gotten my Bella back. After she ran away from me, I thought for sure that I'd end up dying a slow painful death, but the situation made a total one eighty in just one night. Who was I to complain? Especially after the kind of night we had!

I swear I wanted to do a Tiger Wood's fist pump when I woke up the next morning to see that I wasn't living a dream. We had finally gone all the way, and although I came way quicker than I would like to admit, last night was easily the absolute best experience I'd ever had, hands down.

_I hope she doesn't think I'm just a two-stroke joke_.

We'd teased each other to the end of the Earth and back, and I just couldn't hold it in. Last night was a volcano eruption—-pun intended-of so many of my built up teenage fantasies. I was overwhelmed by all of the crazy feelings and sensations that Bella had brought out me. Let's not leave out the part about me finally claiming my imprint! I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack on the spot—it was just so much, and I loved each and every second of it.

From the second I had entered Bella, I felt like I'd explode at any moment. I can't even begin to describe how good she felt. Well…I probably could, but I'd sound like the ultimate perv. Let's just say that I'd never true completion until we finally connected. I swear that I'd make love to Bella all day every day if I could.

I walked on air all day at work, with thoughts of the night before on repeat. Nothing compared to this feeling—not even how I felt after getting laid the first time.

Embry and Quil both eyed me suspiciously from the minute I walked into the garage.

"Dude! What's your deal? You're walking around like you found a gold mine in your back yard."

I couldn't force away the shit-eating grin that spread across my face. "I don't know what you're talking about. Can't a guy just be happy for the sake of being happy?"

Whatever Quil said after that just went in one ear and straight out of the other one. I was too busy reading the text message Bella had just sent me: _ I know I've already told you twice this morning before you left, but I LOVE YOU! I can't stop thinking about you. XOXO_

"Fuck, you haven't heard a single thing I said did you?" he huffed.

"…Yeah, I think I know what's up with oh lover boy here," Embry said, slinging his arm across my shoulders. "I know that kind of smile, dude," he made exaggerated kiss noises.

"Thelma and Louise, don't you have some work to do?" I smirked and headed for my office.

Nothing could bring me down from this Bella high, not even those two nosey fucktards I had for friends.

It was no surprise that I ended up at Bella's place during my lunch break. From the moment she saw me walking up, she was wearing the kind of smile that could bring a man to his knees. There was a good crowd in there, and I sort of felt bad for being a distraction, but from the looks of it, Bella had everything fully under control.

This was my first time coming in, but there was definitely a Bella-type vibe flowing through the place. The walls were painted a pistachio green that matched all of the earthy-colored furniture. Soft music played in the background, and there was a distinct flowery smell in the air. I never really made it a point to pay attention to things like that, but I can honestly say that the place felt warm and welcoming.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" She looked so cute in this element. The teal and yellow sundress she had on was cute, too.

I played along, "Why yes, I do, ma'am."

She beamed. "So what brings you here, today? Any kind of book in particular…cup of coffee…latte…tea?"

I scanned the room and pretended to weigh my options.

"Well, I was hoping to speak with the owner…is that alright?"

"Sure…right this way, sir," she directed me toward the back. "Hey, Elizabeth, I'm going to step out for a second, holler if you need me!" The young girl behind the counter smiled and nodded her head.

As soon as we were behind the stock room door, I pushed Bella against the nearest wall, forcing her wrists above her head in arrest. I flashed her a devilish grin while I stared down at her tiny frame.

"Honey, you smell so fucking good," I growled low.

She gave me a smile that made my jeans tighten, instantly. It didn't help that I could smell her arousal. _Damn, that's quick_. I couldn't wait any longer—I leaned down and attacked her lips, kissing her like I hadn't seen her in months instead of only a few hours prior.

Without breaking the kiss, I grabbed her by the waist, hoisted her up, and she easily wrapped her legs around me. Her dress rode all the way up over the top of her thighs, and snapped my hands to her ass giving it a good squeeze. She moaned into my mouth, and I couldn't help but to grind my hardness against her center. I became weak in the knees from the warmth of her pussy that I felt through her thin lace panties.

"I missed you," she breathed, her eyes filled with pure and unadulterated desire.

"Missed you, too, honey." I gave her a quick peck on the lips, and massaged her supple ass.

"I can tell." She lowered her eyes and bit her lip in that ultra-sexy way, making me groan.

The last thing I wanted to do was leave, but this was her place of business after all. "I guess I better not hold you up too long…don't want the boss on your ass," I smiled.

Bella took me by total surprise when she pulled me back to her lips and kissed me like she wanted me to fuck her right there. _Holy fuck_! The way she snaked her tongue across mine made me shiver, and I think my eyes might have even rolled back. _What was is doing to me_?

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that, right?" I whispered. My heart was beating a mile a minute.

She smirked. "No more kisses for you, then."

I gave Bella's ass a good squeeze and moved in for one last taste of those lips. At the last minute she moved her head to the side. After a couple giggles, I tried again, and was met by the softest pair of lips on Earth. I was over the freakin' moon for this woman.

"I love you." She gave me one last peck.

"I love you, too, honey."

We disconnected and I gently let her down onto her feet. She smoothed down her dress, and combed through her hair with her fingers. I couldn't help but to grin and think: _yeah…I did that_.

Bella eyeballed the prominent bulge in my jeans, and then met my eyes with a grin of her own.

I nodded at my crotch, "I guess I better fix that, huh?"

She chewed her lip and turned red as a tomato.

My dick was hard enough to split bricks. _Think about golf…watching those old wrinkly grannies on Golden Girls…paint drying…Hillary Clinton in a pantsuit_. After I got Little Jake under control, I gave Bella one last kiss, before we headed out.

"Text me when you have time?" Her smile lit up the room.

"Sure, sure." I nodded. "Have a good day, ma'am," I joked in the best cowboy accent I could muster up.

**BPOV**

Jacob sent me a text message after he'd left saying that he had some grand idea that he couldn't wait to share with me. I was on pins and needles the rest of the day trying to figure out what it could be. I'd asked for a hint or two, but all he did was call me, "Nosey Rosie." _Grr_…

Liz and I counted down the register and had everything closed up tight just a few minutes after six. Jacob had already told me that he wasn't going to leave the garage until seven, so that gave me enough time to go home and start some dinner before he came over.

Sometime while I was dredging the chicken breasts in flour, the doorbell rang. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face when I opened the door for my Prince Charming.

Jacob pulled me into an ultra-tight hug, and peppered my face with kisses.

"Mmm…what's that I smell?" He asked, putting me down and heading toward the kitchen.

I checked my pot of green beans and went back to work on the chicken. Jacob sat at the island and watched my every move like the process of frying chicken mesmerized him.

"So what's this idea you've had me thinking about practically all day?"

Jacob wagged his finger. "Impatient aren't we?"

I scowled. "No dessert for you tonight, mister!"

"That's fine…" he grinned. "Your lips are more than enough for me."

I popped him with a kitchen towel and went back to work. We discussed work, and it didn't take long to finish preparing our meal.

Moments after I sat down our plates, the doorbell rang. _Who could that be_?

"Expecting someone?"

"Nope…not at all. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Don't start without me!" I warned over my shoulder as I walked to the door.

Knowing Jacob, he already had a mouthful of macaroni.

I peeped out the window to see a black and white police cruiser. My heart dropped.

"Hi, Dad!" I hope he didn't catch how fake my smile was when I opened the door.

It was so unlike Charlie to drop by without calling first.

"Hey, Bells…hadn't heard from you all day and figured I'd stop over on my way home. Everything alright?"

"Of course, Dad." My palms were sweating.

Charlie knew that Jacob was there since his truck was parked out front, but I couldn't control my nerves.

"Coming in?"

"For a few, I guess…I won't stay long. I see that you have company." He scratched his chin like he was in deep thought. "Jake's truck, huh?"

"Umm…yeah."

Charlie raised an eyebrow at me, asking a million silent questions.

"You two have gotten pretty close again, lately, I see."

I nodded and tried my best to suppress the strong urge to blush. "I just finished frying some chicken…made some macaroni and cheese, green beans, and fresh rolls. You're welcome to have some."

Charlie followed me into the kitchen.

"Chief," Jacob nodded, shaking Charlie's hand.

Charlie looked over at me, "Thanks for the offer, Bells, but Sue already cooked." He looked at his watch, "As a matter of fact, I better get going…I just wanted to stop in and check on you…that's all." His words were as forced as his smile.

"I'll just let myself out. You two enjoy supper…"

_Talk about awkward_!

"He knows something is up…" I lowered my eyes. Charlie's _investigate and analyze_ expression told it all.

"Knowing how Billy gossips like an old woman, I wouldn't be surprised if he's told Charlie that I moved out."

"Shit!" I cursed.

I felt on edge, and any semblance of an appetite I had was out the window.

"Calm down, honey. Eat, and we'll talk this over later, okay?" Jacob gave me one of his signature smiles.

"And, besides…I still have to share my idea!" He poked me in the ribs to make me laugh.

Jacob's sunny personality could make me feel I was on top of the world—even at my worst moments. Maybe I had overreacted a little bit. I mean…eventually, everything about Jacob and I was going to be out in the open for everyone to see.

I was still nibbling on my first piece of chicken when Jacob went back for his sixth piece. I don't know where he put it all! The way that Jacob ate was amazing, especially considering that he never really exercised but maintained an Adonis-like physique.

"Let me run out to the truck and get something real quick," Jacob announced after we finished eating.

While he did that, I went into the living room, flipping through the channels until I settled on some movie on HBO named Abduction. That main actor, Taylor Lautner, sure was hot!

"Ready?!" Jacob announced when he walked back in.

"Umm…" I raised an eyebrow, "I guess."

Jacob had his hands behind his back, clearly hiding something. His devious grin made me worry a little.

"Okay, okay…since you had to drag it out of me," he mocked.

Imagine the look on my face when he revealed his surprise—an atlas.

"It's cool, right?" He sniggered. "Right?"

I eyeballed my silly lover with contempt.

"A map?" I frowned. "Gee, thanks," I rolled my eyes for extra emphasis.

"Perk up, honey!" Jacob sat down on the couch, and pulled me into his arms.

He kissed me on the forehead. "Are you mad?"

"Of course not." I gave him a genuine smile before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Good!" he exclaimed, followed by a tickle fit out of this world.

I tried my best to squirm away from his spidery fingers but his hold was too strong. I laughed and screamed until tears ran down my face.

He paused, "You give up?"

I scrunched up my nose and jokingly gave him the finger.

"That can be arranged, you know?" he whispered, his extra-smooth tone sent tingles down my spine.

I blushed, but his proposition soon took a backseat when he resumed his crazy tickling, only stopping when I yelled in surrender, "Uncle! Uncle!"

"So are you ready for my idea?" He asked after I'd calmed down.

Jacob opened the atlas and flipped through until he came to the page that showed the entire United States. I had no idea where he was going with this.

"So…while I was at work today, thinking about you, of course…I had this great idea."

"…okay?" He had my attention.

"I think we should take a little vacation…maybe three or four days? It'll be perfect…"

"A vacation, huh?" A vacation sounded like a good idea. I couldn't remember the last time that I'd taken one. "And just where do you suppose we go on this vacation?"

"That's what this handy dandy map is for." He was grinning from ear to ear. "Give me your hand, Bells."

I did.

"Now close your eyes. No peeking!"

I did.

"Wherever you point out, that's where we're going."

I laughed. "So, you're saying that if I choose somewhere like Beaver Lick, Kentucky, that's where we're going?"

"Yes, silly girl! It's all on you."

I kept my eyes closed and laughed the whole time while I moved my hand across the map. _God, I hope it's not somewhere ridiculous_!

When I felt satisfied, I stopped, and immediately opened my eyes. I looked at Jacob, then checked to see where my finger landed.

"Looks like we'll be going to the Lone Star state, honey." Jacob gave me a kiss.

I'd landed on Prosper, Texas, which was some place located right outside of Dallas. _Prosper? What an interesting name_.

"So when do you think we should take this vacation?" I'd been so excited about the idea of us going somewhere that I hadn't even contemplated the logistics of such a trip.

"Soon."

"Soon?" I eyed him. "How soon is soon? I'll have to make arrangements for the bookstore, and we'll have to get transportation, a hotel…"

"Relax, honey. Let's say we'll leave two weekends from now? I'd rather that we drive or ride my bike down, but since it's so far, I'll book us a flight." He paused and stared at the ceiling like he was in think-mode. "Yeah, we'll fly out on like a Friday morning, and come back on Sunday night or maybe Monday…the guys can handle the garage for a day or two, and can't that girl watch over the store for a day or two? Maybe Charlie can check in on or her?"

Wow! I guess Jacob had it all planned out.

"I've never been to Texas before…have you?"

"Nope, so it'll be an adventure for both of us!" he beamed.

I scrunched up my nose, pretending to be in deep thought considering this proposal. "Hmm…"

Jacob gave me pleading eyes like a little puppy dog.

"Well…" I trailed off.

* * *

_A/N: So...Bella and Jacob are going on vacation...maybe? Lol. As you may (or may not) know, I took a vacation to Dallas a few weeks ago, and while there, I had a huge lightbulb moment that I may (or may not...teehee) use for future chapters. I really feel that Jacob and Bella need some time together to discuss everything and have some sexy time before the next wave of drama and chaos, and believe me when I tell you...there is some serious chaos in store! Lastly, yes, there is a real town named Beaver Lick, Kentucky. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you around for the next one. XOXO_


	15. Plainly Put--It's Over

_A/N: As usual, thanks so much to those of you who have taken the time to leave a review. I really look forward to reading them. =) Now, as far as this chapter is concerned...it's not the most action-packed, I admit. I had intended for it to be longer, but I decided to go ahead and post what i have instead of keeping you all hanging since I'm trying to post at least once per week. I hope you enjoy it. Keep in mind that I do not own Twilight or any other related materials...I don't own anything except for this computer I'm typing on, okay? Happy reading!_

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**JPOV**

It was settled. Bella was going to let me take her on vacation.

I felt like _the_ man while she gushed with excitement, but it was short-lived since I had to make an excuse to leave. I really hated to leave Bella, especially since she made it obvious that she didn't want me to go, but it was my night to patrol. I left with the promise that I'd stay over on the next night.

My shift didn't start until midnight, and since it was only a few minutes after eleven, I headed over to my dad's.

Billy usually went to sleep after the ten o'clock news, so I was surprised that he was still up. When I came in, he was parked right in front of the TV with a beer in his hand while watching reruns of Gunsmoke. He'd probably seen each episode of that show at least ten times.

"Go to bed, old man!" I joked, heading to the fridge.

"Jake, come on in and sit with me for a minute, will ya?"

_Uh oh_.

I took a seat in my favorite chair, and Billy turned off the TV. _This must be serious_. Even though I was an adult, I still got a little nervous whenever Billy wanted to _talk_.

"What's up, Dad?"

"Son, I think you know what's up…" he glared at me. "Charlie tells me that he stopped by Bella's house today and you were there…matter of fact, he said that he's seen your truck there a lot. Now I know that you and Josie are separated for now…and I'm not judging you for anything, but Charlie is getting pretty suspicious, and he's been asking all kinds of questions…" Billy paused and took a swig from his beer. "Look, my point is, you need to get to cleaning up this mess of yours, son. If you're going to be with your imprint, I understand and I support you all the way, but you need to get your ducks in a row…have a sit down with Josie, lawyer up, try to be civil, and so on."

"I know," I said matter-of-factly. I knew Billy meant well, but I felt like this was a lecture…one that I didn't need.

"The next council meeting is this Friday, so that gives you two days to prepare to announce your imprinting and intent to dissolve the marriage. It's a closed-door meeting for council members only..." He sighed, "I can't imagine how you feel son…and this all seems so sudden, but it's for the best."

I just nodded; the gears in my head were turning at full speed.

"I'm going to talk to Josie tomorrow and try to get on the same page with her about…" I rolled my eyes. "...stuff."

"Good, good..." Billy looked like he was in deep thought.

"Dad?"

"What?"

"I still haven't told Bella about…us." I winced, feeling guilty for keeping this secret from her for so long.

Billy shook his head showing disapproval. "What in the world are you waiting for? Pigs to fly?"

I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid that she'd want to run for the hills once she found out all of my supernatural baggage.

"I'll handle it…soon."

_Maybe I'll bring her to bonfire…then she could hear more of the legends…meet the pack…_

"As long as you think that you've got it under control," he sighed. I assumed that he wanted to say more, but didn't. "One more thing, before I hit the sack…"

"Sure, what's up, Dad?"

"I dreamed about fish last night."

"Okay?" I wondered why he felt the need to share that random fact.

Billy laughed, "You sure as hell better hope that it was just a false alarm."

I was so lost, and it really showed. "False alarm? Dad, what—"

"The legends. Remember the legends? Son, you better get it together…you're going to be Chief soon."

I honestly had no idea what Billy was talking about. He shook his head, wheeling himself out the living room.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Jake."

"G'night, Dad."

_What was all that about?_

I shook my head and shrugged it off.

Boy did I have my work cut out for me…

**Josie's POV**

Jacob had left our home the night that I confronted him about the imprint, and he hadn't come back since. In the days after, my anger and hurt further intensified.

It didn't take long for me to convince myself that the best remedy to my situation was to fuck somebody else in an effort to get my so-called husband out of my system. Besides, he and I hadn't had sex in months. I was more than sure that he was digging out Bella instead of me, anyway.

In steps Emmanuel.

Emmanuel Harjoe was Jacob's first cousin—Billy's sister's son. We were high school classmates, but he'd left the Rez not long after we graduated. I hadn't seen him much over the years, but he'd moved back recently.

I felt no shame while I openly flirted with Emmanuel at the fish market, and he fell for it…hook, line, and sinker. He'd always been a "bad boy" and a well-known man whore, so I can't say that I expected any less of him. Hell, Emmanuel was probably worse than La Push's resident bad boy, Paul Lahote.

Within the first few minutes of conversation, I began formulating plans to sleep with Emmanuel, _especially_ since he was related to Jay. That little bit of revenge had the potential to taste so sweet!

I really wanted to go for the jugular, and get with somebody closer to Jay…one of his friends…somebody from the pack, even. I would've loved to get my hands on Paul. Just the thought of him made my panties wet with anticipation. Paul's mean streak coupled with that fuck-the-world attitude of his turned me on in some type of twisted way, but since he was imprinted, getting him into bed would've been next to impossible.

Imprinting _was_ the bane of my fucking existence!

So, that's how I ended up with Emmanuel. I gave him my number at the fish market, and that very night we hooked up and went to the Miller Creek bar in Forks. On the ride over, he finally asked about Jacob, but I brushed him it off with, "Jacob, who?" In true bad boy fashion, Emmanuel gave me a sadistic grin and winked. His lack of morals was no surprise.

Three tequila shots later, I could barely even spell "morals", no less exercise them. I didn't care about being out in the open with another man, nor did I care if anyone saw the way that he lightly caressed my thigh and brushed his lips against my ear. I blushed like a schoolgirl, eating up every single bit of it. It was only a matter of time until somebody noticed us, and I delighted in the idea of word getting back to Jay.

"Let's have one for the road," he grinned before ordering two shots of tequila.

Holding eye contact, I seductively licked the salt encrusted rim of the glass before throwing it back. Less than an hour later, I had my tongue all over him instead. I was beyond buzzed, possibly even drunk, but fucking him was a fully conscious decision. It was not lovemaking—there was nothing loving about the way he bent me over the bed and went to work.

I relished every moment as he fucked away my pain—even if it was only a temporary fix, and by sunrise, I'd passed out from exhaustion.

Emmanuel must've let himself out, because the next thing I knew, I was awakened by furious knocking at the door.

I rolled over and groaned—my head was pounding, and I felt like I'd been through hell and back. The bedside clock showed it was a few minutes after seven.

_Just great. _

"Who the fuck could this be?" I cursed under my breath.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed, put on a robe, and smoothed down my disheveled hair.

When I looked out to see that it was Jacob, my heartbeat sped up instantaneously. It was then that I became aware of the aching and soreness between my legs. It was then that I felt true guilt for having sex with another man…in our bed.

I refused to let my feelings show.

"You have a key, don't you?" I rolled my eyes, opening the door for Jacob.

"Josie, I just want to talk, okay?"

I didn't want to hear a damn thing he had to say. As far as I was concerned, Jacob was nobody to me.

"What is there to talk about? You imprinted, it's over between us," I sneered.

A low growl escaped Jacob's clenched teeth, "Josephine…" He rarely called me by my whole name.

I sat on the couch and gave him the stare of death when he took a seat across from me.

"Bring it on…I want to hear more of your lies," I rolled my eyes again.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly like he was trying to get himself in check. "I'm going to be as civil as possible with you, not because I have to, but because I'm better than this…we're better than this, Josie."

_Yeah, okay._

"I'm not here to lie to you. I owe you more than that…." He paused, taking another deep breath. "Before we got married, you'd told me time and time again that you were scared that I would imprint…you told me that was your biggest fear. I remember everything. I remember practically begging you to let that idea go, because it was just empty fear."

All of those conversations were still fresh in my mind, and just the brief mention of them was enough to slice my emotional wounds right back open.

"I didn't ask for this lifestyle…none of this shit. I was just a normal sixteen-year-old kid, and _BAM_! My life was changed overnight, and I resented my wolf for the longest. I resented my dad for keeping everything a secret from me, and most of all I resented the idea of imprinting…seeing first hand how it destroyed Leah when Sam imprinted on Emily…" He frowned and bowed his head. "…I couldn't help it, okay?" He exhaled hard, showing me his pained eyes, and for the first time, I actually felt bad for him. "I thought that it would never happen to me, and that I'd be able to half-way live a normal life, but…"

"But you met Bella?" I felt unwanted tears coming.

"Pretty much…yeah."

"When?" My voice trembled, but I tried my best to hide my growing emotions.

"Roughly four months ago...it happened the first time I saw her. I tried to fight it, Josie…I really did, but I can't explain…"

"Bullshit!" I spat, my eyes blazed with anger.

_Here we go with the lies_.

Looking me in the eye, he continued, "How can I make you understand? I could apologize until I turn blue in the face, but that'll never be enough. I fucked up…okay?"

I shook my head and mumbled under my breath.

"I fucked up!" It was the first time that he'd raised his voice since we started talking. "I don't know what to say…really...I don't."

"It's over, Jacob. That's all there is to it," a silent tear fell from my eye. Pain tore through my chest, but I tried my best not to let it show.

"So, that's it…?" He gave me questioning eyes.

"That's it. You can have your precious little Bella…forget about me, forget about us…forget about every _fucking_ thing we've had. Forget I ever existed!" I could no longer hold back my anger.

"I didn't mean to hurt you like this, Josie." His words pricked my heart.

"Whatever!" I sucked my teeth, showing my disgust. "You know what?" I was practically screaming by then. "Go announce that shit to the council! Be my fucking guest! It's over!"

I stormed out of the room, no longer able to hold back the wealth of tears that fell.

I was defeated.

**JPOV**

You ever thought about what it would feel if you got ran over by a car, lost your very best friend, and found out that you had brain cancer all in the same day?

Yeah—me, either, but I imagine that it felt something like I did at that moment.

This had to be the lowest of low.

I hadn't expected the conversation with Josie to go over well, but I wasn't prepared for the hurricane of anger she unleashed. Realistically, there's no way I could've been prepared for it, though. Despite how much anger she spewed out, I tried my best to keep calm. Everything I'd said was the honest truth, but I don't think she really cared, either way.

I felt so guilty for how things had played out between us.

When we'd gotten together, things were so different-Josie was _so_ different. I'm not sure if it was the baby issues or what, but she'd become so bitter in such a short amount of time, even before the imprint.

After our conversation—or confrontation, rather—I let myself out, slamming the door behind me. The urge to give in to my wolf was strong, but eventually I was able to get myself under control.

Good thing that it was a slow day at the garage. Quil and Embry played Dr. Phil and Company while I got everything off my chest. The way that we sat around talking reminded me of old times in the old garage at my dad's when we'd sit around shooting the shit while I worked on the Rabbit.

"Man, you did the right thing. No offense to Josie, but you and Bella were made for each other," Embry shook his head.

"Em's right. You had to do what you had to do," Quil agreed.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, tearing away my attention from the conversation. It was Bella: _Miss you. Coming over after work? XOXO_

I couldn't help but smile while reading her message. I quickly typed out: _Of course. C u after work, honey. I miss u 2. Btw, hows ur day going so far? _

Quil elbowed Embry in the ribs, "I bet that's Bell-luh." My wolf became instantly agitated by the way that he'd let her name roll off of his tongue.

"Cut it out," I growled instinctively. I immediately regretted snapping on Quil like that. After taking a good deep breath, I was back to normal. "Sorry about that…I didn't mean to fly off the handle."

"It's cool. I know how it is…" Quil shook his head.

Throughout our conversation, I'd left out the part about smelling sex on Josie this morning. There was no mistaking it that she'd recently had sex with someone else, because the smell was fresh on her and in the house. I was surprised that I was able to keep my temper in check, even though it was safe to assume that she'd recently had sex with someone else…probably in "our" bed.

I quickly forced away those thoughts. I was the last person to be in the position to judge her, but still...

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_A/N: So...that's the latest update on what's going on between Jake and Josie. I promise to have Bella's POV and some nice fluffy stuff in the upcoming chapters...if I had to guess, I'd say there should be about 3-4 more chapters before a true twist comes into play. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy! Now off to plan a vacation...In the meantime, be a sweetie and review. I'll love you forever and ever and ever =)_


	16. The Washing Machine

_A/N: So...I'm a few days later than I would've liked with this one. Fall semester for college just started back up, so now I have a lot more responsibilities, but have no fear-I will not abandon this story! I fully intend on updating every week once per week. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one. See you at the end for the more detailed author's note. ENJOY! Oh, and keep in mind that I don't currently have a Beta or a pre-reader, so there may be a few small errors here and there. I apologize ahead of time._

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**JPOV**

Clothes were piled up everywhere on the laundry room floor, and Bella looked sexy as hell while she bent over to put the clothes in. She had on some little yellow shorts that hugged the curve of her ass and left little to the imagination. I could see myself walking up behind her, grabbing those hips, and pulling her against the bulge that was steadily forming in my jeans.

"Hello! Earth to Jacob!" She waved her hands in front of my face, snapping me out of my Bella-induced trance.

"Oh, umm…yeah?" _Busted._

"Your mind must be on the other side of the moon. You didn't hear me did you?"

I shrugged and gave her my best set of puppy-dog eyes.

"I just used the last bit of washing powder, but I bought a new box. It's in my trunk. Get it for me…" She bit her bottom lip, "…please?"

Now it was her turn to give me the puppy-dog eyes.

"With a cherry on top?"

Bella was so cute when she did that.

"Sure, sure." I groaned, pretending to be annoyed.

When I came back with the detergent, Bella was leaning against the washing machine. As soon as I walked in, she smirked, and I could tell that she was fighting the urge to blush.

"Miss me?" I grinned, giving her a quick peck.

Bella looked up at me, slowly shook her head, and bit her bottom lip in that super sexy—yet innocent—way that I liked. _Holy shit_.

Within seconds, I'd gripped her hips and lifted her on top of the washer. She eagerly opened her legs so I could stand between them.

"I've missed you so much, Bells," I whispered, making my way to her lips.

I cupped Bella's face, and put my lips on hers. She gave me several little pecks before giving me her tongue. Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for things to heat up, and soon, I was lightly thrusting myself against her warm core. My erection _begged _for freedom, and the thought of taking her right there on that washing machine was making my head swim.

I had to have her. Right then.

Right there.

I became putty in Bella's hands after she went underneath my shirt and ghosted her fingers across my back. When I pulled away to take off my shirt, she let out a sexy little whine like she needed—not wanted, but needed—my lips on hers.

It wasn't long before Bella's clothes were keeping my discarded shirt company. Anticipation was written all over her face while I unbuckled my belt painfully slow. My slow pace literally had her on edge, and I think we were both relieved when I finally undid my pants, the belt buckle making a loud thud when they hit the floor. I didn't even bother to step out the leg holes.

My fingers found their way into her silky folds, while I kissed her pillow-soft lips.

"Oh, Jake…" she breathed through clenched teeth as I gently brushed against clit.

_If I don't get inside her soon, I'll die. I will fucking die._

"Tell me what you need, Bells." I pulled back enough to stare her in the eye. In that moment, I would've literally taken a trip around the world and back if she asked. Hell, I would've gone to the moon, too, as an added bonus.

Much to my surprise, she encircled my length with her fist, and innocently replied, "I need this…"

I was lightheaded from my own need. Fire pumped through my veins, and within the blink of an eye, I was guiding myself into the nice wetness she'd created just for me. My eyes were rolling back, but I didn't miss the way her eyes fluttered as I opened her up.

Pleasure was written all over Bella's face.

Holding her hips, I kept her close, giving her all I had. The combination of my stroke, the machine's vibrations, and sucking on Bella's neck was driving her crazy.

"I love you so much, honey," I breathed, going my deepest and holding myself there.

I literally felt weak in the knees from the way she shivered in my hold and gasped.

"Don't stop!"

And I didn't—not until I'd pushed her to the point of no return, not until she screamed my name over and over, not until she came, and I followed not too far behind her, pulling out just in time.

"I love you, too, Jake." She kissed me, smiling like she'd just won the lottery.

After I was able to get my head together, I picked Bella up and carried her to bed. She was asleep before I laid her down, and I followed right behind her, exhausted out of my mind.

Friday was here…my big day with the council.

I had intended to map out my speech ahead of time, but I couldn't shake my thoughts about the night before…on the washing machine. Bella's flirty texts throughout the day didn't help, either. I got plenty of work done, but it felt like I was sporting a constant boner. As soon as I'd relax, Bella would send me another message like: _I can't stop thinking about u…and last night…and the washing machine was SO HOT...I want 2 come over and see u sooooo bad. Maybe test out that couch in ur office? ;-)_

So when six o'clock came around, and I was wheeling Billy into the meeting, I had a feeling I was in for it. I just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so I could get back to Bella.

The council was there waiting. After me and Billy greeted everybody, we got straight to the nitty gritty.

"Jacob has two important announcements, and that will be our first order of business," Billy announced.

I figured what I had to say wouldn't be a big surprise to anyone. Josie sure didn't mind telling our business, and I was pretty sure that she'd told Dana and Leah that I'd imprinted, and considering how small La Push was, it had probably circulated around the whole rez.

Nerves tried to get the best of me, but I was able to pull my shit together and get straight to the point. Six sets of eyes were on me, and even without supernatural hearing, you probably could hear a pin drop.

"Eight years ago…several of us were given a huge responsibility to be the protectors of our people. Out of us ten shifters, eight imprinted within a couple years of the first phase leaving me and Leah the only ones who never found an imprint…" I swallowed hard. "…until now."

I glanced over at Billy. There was nothing but pride in his eyes. Sam's expression was unusually relaxed, and he even showed a hint of a smile.

_Just spit it out already. _

"I imprinted."

Old Quil didn't miss a beat before asking, "On who?"

"Chief Swan's daughter, Bella."

That led to question after question…after question.

Sue looked confused. "I hate to bring this up, but…where does Josephine fit into this picture?"

Nerves tried to creep up on me again.

I cleared my throat, "She doesn't."

_Damn that came out harsh_.

"What I mean is…the second announcement…our intent to divorce."

"We will need to meet with you and Josephine both about this matter," Old Quil frowned.

"One week from today we will meet with both of you and discuss details," Billy added.

Thankfully the meeting didn't last much longer.

**BPOV**

Who knew that planning a vacation could be so nerve-wracking?

Every since I'd gotten home from work, I'd been looking at flight itineraries, rental cars, and hotel ratings. Thankfully Jake came over and put my worries to rest.

"I'll take care of this…don't worry your pretty little head," he mocked before giving me a gentle kiss.

I rolled my eyes, and poked him hard in the ribs, which led to an all out tickle fight.

"I'm starting to think you get turned on by tickling me…as much as you do it…is that some new fetish?"

He gave me that smile…_my_ smile. "Anything that deals with touching you turns me on, duh! Now get your laptop and pull up those flights and stuff before we get too distracted."

Snuggling in his arms, I scrolled through travel websites making comparisons.

"What flight do you think we should take? The one that leaves out at six in the morning, or the one that leaves at three in the afternoon?"

"The early one…then we can get there early in the day and have more time to do stuff on that Friday," he pointed at the screen to the Alaska Air flight.

After Jake booked our flight, we moved on to hotels, but it all seemed to blur together.

"I'll take care of the hotel stuff, in the meantime, I was thinking you'd want to come to a bonfire with me."

"Bonfire? You mean…in La Push?" I gulped.

"Yeah, with the pack."

I was lost. "The _who_?" _The pack? Is that slang for people from the rez_?

For a moment, Jacob looked lost, too.

"Umm, no…I meant…you know…just a few of us…nothing big," he coughed. "Me and a few friends, maybe Billy, and a couple of the elders…tomorrow night. You can come and hear some of the legends and stuff, chill out, roast marshmallows…"

He wiggled his eyebrows, "and you can sit between my legs…so I can keep you warm. You know…something like that?"

I was visibly apprehensive, although I had tried not to let it show. My stomach turned at the thought of going on the rez and possibly crossing paths with Josie. _Maybe it's too early to go public with everything_. I knew that we'd be out in the open soon, but I didn't think it would be quite this _soon_. True, I'd met most of his friends at one point or another, but this was a whole new thing.

"Honey, are you okay?" Jacob looked concerned.

"Yeah," I gave him a weak smile. _Gosh, I'm a terrible liar_.

"Sure?"

I moved my lips to his, and offered him my tongue in an effort to avoid the question.

It was like Jacob could read my mind, though.

"Bells, you know I would never let anyone hurt you, right?"

His words melted my heart and somewhat eased my previous worries.

Doubts still lingered in my brain, but somehow he convinced me to go, and the next night I was on pins and needles during the whole ride to the rez.

Thankfully Jake did the driving because I was brimming over with nervous energy and my palms were sweating so much that it was downright embarrassing.

The bonfire was at Second Beach, and I immediately had feelings of nostalgia while Jake helped me across the rocky terrain that lead to the beach. The orange-red sun was starting to set, and it looked like the scene straight out of a movie as we got closer and closer to the beach.

In the distance I could see a couple guys building a fire, and a few other people were sitting around watching.

Jacob firmly held my hand while we walked down the beach, and every time I looked over at him, he gave me a sunny smile. His sunny disposition always perked me up, but it wasn't enough to keep my anxiety in check when we'd come upon the group of people. All eyes were on us, making me have the urge to hide behind Jacob's towering frame.

"Hey, everybody…this is Bella," Jacob announced matter-of-factly.

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_A/N: Ok, so it's time for Bella to meet the pack. Of course, she's still clueless about the pack, but I've got a feeling that she's going to become enlightened very soon. I apologize for the somewhat short length of this chapter, and I'll try to make it up with the next one. I really will =) In the meantime, I'd love if you left me a quick review now that you're done. This is my first fic so any feedback, comments, criticisms, etc. is greatly appreciated._


	17. Not-So Secret Secrets

_A/N: I sat down and wrote out this chapter within a couple hours, but it has been a pain to edit! No Beta, no pre-reader...just little ole me, but here it is. As I promised, it's much longer than the previous chapter. I really hope you enjoy it, although I'll admit that I wasn't quite satisfied with how it turned out. I guess I'm ready to get to the big event which is not too far around the corner. *hint hint* Once again, I hope you enjoy. Keep in mind that my name isn't Stephenie Meyer, I don't own Twilight, these characters, or anything else affiliated with the series. Womp, womp, womp._

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**JPOV**

Bella had been quiet in the car and while we walked down the beach. I squeezed her little hand in mine, because it was obvious that she was a big ball of nerves. _Hopefully she'll loosen up..._

While we walked toward the others, I had flashbacks to nights on the beach, sitting between my mom's legs while listening to the elders tell legends and the history of our tribe. Although I'd heard the same stories a million times, they never got old, and I'd get lost in them every time.

These days, bonfires seemed few and far between, though. When we had a chance to get together, I'd always miss the old times. Tonight it was just the pack—well, most of us, anyway.

Everybody was supposed to come…except for Leah. She didn't answer when I had called, but she sent word through Embry that she had better things to do. I didn't even worry about it; Leah hadn't phased in over two years, anyway. I had a feeling that she wasn't coming out of spite since she was Josie's so-called "bestie".

The night was destined to go smoothly. We'd have a bonfire, Sam would tell the legends, and we'd go home with him and Emily for dinner. That was the plan.

I'd told everyone that we would start around seven. When Bella and I got there, a few people were on the beach already. Jared and Paul were passing a football, Quil and Embry were working on the fire, and Kim sat watching.

By the time that we'd gotten close, Bella was shaking like a leaf. I gave her hand another good squeeze, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. _Maybe that'll help a little_.

All eyes were on my imprint.

"Hey everybody, this is Bella." I grinned from ear to ear, nodding my head toward her.

Knowing Bella, she was probably ready to run and hide. She would've tried it if weren't for the fact that I was holding her hand so tight. I leaned down and whispered, "It's okay, honey. Relax."

Bella gave a quick, shy wave. "Hi, everybody!"

"Bella!" Quil ran up like a little kid, jerking her into a tight hug.

My wolf immediately became agitated, but I couldn't help but to smile when Bella laughed and flailed her arms while Quil twirled her around in circles.

"Put me down! Put me down!" She yelled between laughs.

"Hey, don't hog the lady, I want a hug, too." Embry pushed Quil out of the way after he'd put Bella down.

Embry gave her a quick hug.

"Em, where's Dana?" I looked around.

"Had to stay home with Luke. Her mom was going to watch him for us, but something came up."

Seconds later, Sam and Emily walked up. I took Bella's hand and introduced them.

"Hey, welcome to the family!" Emily hugged Bella like they were old friends instead of strangers. _Sam must've told her everything. No surprise there_.

Thankfully, Bella seemed a little more at ease after she'd been introduced to everyone. Even Paul treated her nice. I hadn't told anybody about the imprint except for Sam, Quil, and Embry, so either it was super obvious or somebody had been running their mouth.

We all had a little small talk while waiting on the last of the pack to show up, and it felt so good to have Bella with me. I was so lucky…she was _mine_—not only that, but she was no longer a secret.

We took a seat on an old log beside the fire. Bella snuggled into my side, and I wrapped my arm around her, bringing her even closer. "Everything okay?"

Bella nodded, giving me a genuine smile.

Soon, Colin, Brady, and each of their imprints joined us. Sam had our undivided attention as he recounted the history of our tribe, the legends of Taha Aki, spirit warriors, and the cold ones.

Everything was going great—pretty much perfect—until somebody decided to throw a wrench in it all.

Up walks Leah, and she wasn't alone.

Leah _and_ Josie.

Sam paused mid-sentence.

Bella's mouth dropped. I imagine that she was ready to stroke out at any second. Her heart was thumping hard, and I could even smell her fear.

"No need to pause the party," Leah frowned, putting her hand on her hip.

Josie rolled her eyes at me, and I knew right then that it was time for them to go. The last thing I needed was more of her immature bullshit.

"Hold on a second, honey," I whispered to Bella.

All eyes were on me when I stood up.

"Leah…Josie…I need to speak with both of you."

Josie rolled her eyes again. They didn't budge.

"Now!" I roared, the Alpha unintentionally coming out of me.

Reluctantly, they followed me away from the bonfire.

"So let me guess, Lover Boy…we're not welcome to the festivities?" Leah smirked.

I kept calm, despite her efforts to provoke me.

"You need to leave." I was firm, keeping a blank expression.

"We're not bothering you and your precious Bella…just wanted to visit with the pack and enjoy." Josie was so full of it.

I wasn't about to play their game, "Cut the crap. You need to go. Both of you."

"I guess we better leave, Josie…don't want baby Alpha here to get all bitchy on us."

Out of nowhere, Josie went into full-fledged lunatic mode. "You know what…_FUCK YOU AND HER_!"

No need for supernatural hearing, anymore. Even the imprints could hear her unnecessary outburst.

Leah tried to pull Josie away, but Josie stood firm. "You stupid son of a bitch, fuck you and your precious little imprint!"

My wolf instantly became a raging bull, ready to charge her. It erupted inside me, clawing at the surface of my being, begging to take over. I clenched my fists as I tried to maintain control over my wolf. _Not here, not now_.

By then, Quil had grabbed my shoulders, giving them a strong squeeze. "She's not worth it, man," he shot daggers at Josie.

The urge to phase was still strong, even after Leah pulled Josie away.

"She's such a cunt," Quil groaned under his breath. I wasn't sure if he was talking about Josie or Leah.

I wasn't even surprised that they'd pulled that little stunt.

I should've expected it.

After I calmed down and walked back to the fire, Bella was on the verge of tears. Instinctively, I pulled her into a reassuring hug. I forgot that we had an audience—I didn't even care.

I cupped Bella's face in my hands, "I'm so sorry about that, honey."

I gave her a couple kisses on the forehead, before giving her a peck on the lips. "I love you, Bella…more than anything in this world."

**BPOV**

Humiliated.

That's definitely what I felt when I saw _her_.

I had a feeling that something like this would happen…lo and behold, it did.

I was barely able to hold it together after Jacob walked off. It felt like they'd been talking for hours, but in reality only a couple minutes had passed…five at the most. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I'm sure it wasn't anything nice. Josie started screaming, and the moment I heard her drop the f-bomb, I felt like it was time for me to leave.

I swallowed back tears, unwilling to become an emotional wreck in front of Jacob's friends.

Somehow, I didn't even notice when Jake came back, and before I could say anything, he'd pulled me into one of his ultra-tight hugs. Immediately I relaxed in his arms, despite them being a little _too_ tight. Silent communication flowed from his eyes to mine, and somehow I knew that everything was going to be okay…it was okay. Then, Jacob's lips touched mine.

Jacob truly was _my_ personal sun…bringing light even in the darkest of times. That moment we shared extinguished my anxiety and pacified me.

Admittedly, I was still on edge, but the rest of the bonfire went off without a hitch. Sam was an awesome storyteller, and I really enjoyed listening to him. His words were filled with so much depth, and I could clearly envision everything he was saying…even the part about shape shifting Quileute warriors who turned into wolves. That part sounded like something straight from Animorphs-a show I watched as a kid, but it was entertaining to say the least.

After the bonfire was over, Sam and Emily invited us back to their house for dinner. Everybody had been so warm and welcoming toward me, especially Emily, and I had a feeling that she and I could easily become friends.

The ride from the beach to their house was very short, and just as we were getting out of the car, I had flashbacks to the whole fiasco with Josie and her friend.

It was like Jacob could sense the uneasiness that my thoughts had brought on because when he opened my car door, he pulled me into a nice hug.

"Bells, I love you." He planted little kisses across my neck, sending chills down my spine.

I closed my eyes and savored his touch. "I love you, too," I whispered, unable to hide my contentment. _This guy is perfect_.

We embraced for several moments, enjoying the simple comfort of each other's company.

When we walked in the house, Emily was setting the table, and Sam was holding a small baby. _I didn't know they had a kid_. There was undeniable warmth in Sam's eyes, and it touched my heart to see him and the baby in their own little world.

Jacob must've noticed me staring. "That's Maya, their newest addition."

Usually, I'd volunteer to help out in the kitchen, but I made a beeline straight to little Maya, and Sam eagerly handed her over. Everybody made small talk, but I was engrossed in Maya. My heart swelled with joy when she laughed at my gentle tickling. She was so small, yet so full of personality.

"I think somebody's found a new friend," Emily smiled.

"She's so sweet! How old is she?" I gushed.

"Six months…still in that sweet stage, but her big sister, Violet, on the other hand…"

"Just be glad that she's asleep, Bella." Sam chuckled.

Apparently, Emily's mom had babysat Violet and Maya during the bonfire. Six-year old Violet had been put to bed, already.

When it was time to eat, I hated to put Maya down. It felt so natural to hold her and stare into those little innocent eyes.

"So how did it feel to meet the pack, tonight?" Emily grinned.

_What's up with all this La Push slang_?

I don't know what she'd said wrong, but Sam glared at her, and Jacob coughed, looking uncomfortable as ever.

_ Am I missing something here_?

All eyes were on Emily. _How awkward_.

"Umm, I better go check on those muffins real quick," Emily headed into the kitchen.

I gave Jacob a questioning glance.

"Bells-"

Sam, interrupted, "Emily makes the best chili ever…let's eat before it get's cold."

_Boy is everybody acting weird all of a sudden_.

When we finished eating, Jacob and Sam excused themselves from the table, so I offered to help with the dishes while they talked.

"So…Sam tells me that you and Jacob grew up together?"

"Yeah, something like that, I guess. Billy and my dad are best friends, so I spent a lot of time with Jake when I'd come visit."

Emily smiled, "You know…Jacob really adores you? The way that he looks at you…I've _never _seen him like that." I took note of her emphasis on the word "never". "And about earlier…I apologize about that scene at the bonfire. Leah is my first cousin…I love her and all, but what she and Josie did was inexcusable and down right rude. I hope that little stunt doesn't stop you from coming around rez. You're like family to us, Bella…you're welcome in my home any time."

I didn't know how to respond to her little revelation, but I felt that her words were sincere.

Moments later, Jacob and Sam came in the kitchen. Jacob came from behind and wrapped his arms around me. I practically melted into his warmth.

"Meet me outside when you're done?" he brushed his lips against my ear.

I blushed like a schoolgirl.

"I take that as a yes," he gave me a peck on the cheek.

As soon as we were alone, Emily was giggling her head off. "Oh, to be young and in love!" She joked.

I splashed a little water in her direction, "Hey, knock it off!" We laughed together, and for the first time since I'd moved, I felt like I had a female friend in my corner.

"I'll take over from here. Go see what Jake wants."

I protested, but Emily wouldn't back down.

When I walked into the living room, Sam was rocking Maya to sleep. He looked up, "Jake's on the porch waiting for you."

I put on my coat, wondering what was going on. I felt a little jumpy. My nerves were getting the best of me as usual.

When I stepped out onto the porch, Jacob was sitting in a rocking chair looking off into the distance. The moon glowed especially bright, illuminating his beautiful face, and I couldn't help but to smile. _My Jacob_.

Jacob patted the empty rocker next to his. When I sat down, he reached for my hand, and we both rocked in silence for several moments. It was so peaceful out there, and I felt an indescribable flow of positive energy moving between us.

"Bells…we need to talk."

My heart dropped. Nothing good every came out of, "We need to talk."

I felt a rush of anxiety, and my chest tightened with fear.

"Relax, honey, it's nothing bad…" He tried to reassure me, but I was already wound up too tight.

"What is it Jake? Just spit it out."

Jacob took both of my hands into his. I averted my gaze, unable to hold eye contact.

"Honey, look at me." His voice was smooth and velvety.

My heart and my mind played serious game of tug of war, but somehow I found the will to comply.

And so he began.

Jacob recounted the bonfire…he asked me if I had listened to the legends. I had.

Jacob told me that they weren't _just_ legends…it was all true. He told me that he loved me more than he loved himself…more than anything in this world…more than the world itself. He told me that our love was as easy as breathing, and that we were meant to be.

Then, he told me that he had been hiding something from me, and that it was time to tell the truth.

He told me that he could show me better than he could tell me.

Conflicting emotions swirled in my head, and I was unable to formulate a verbal response. I felt like this was some joke…a weird joke, but a joke, nonetheless.

"You know that I'd never hurt you, Bella? Never."

I could only nod my head.

"Do you trust me?"

Tears ran down my face. I nodded again.

I trusted Jacob with everything I had.

He stood up, pulling me with him to the back of the house where he told me to sit on the back steps. Jacob leaned down and gave me a long passionate kiss, ending it with, "Just trust me, honey." I nodded, feeling anxious and unsure as I watched him walk away.

I had no idea where he was going and how long he would be gone, so I closed my eyes, trying to gain some understanding. He'd said that he'd been keeping a secret from me. He'd said that he hadn't known how to tell me. He'd said that he was afraid that I'd leave him.

And there I sat—afraid of the unknown.

I opened my eyes, but tears blurred my vision. I blinked repeatedly, trying to make out the large shadow that moved in the darkness. As it came closer, I reflexively cupped my hand over my mouth as I processed the sight before my eyes.

Slowly, this large creature walked toward me.

It was the wolf…straight from my dream.

**JPOV**

I trudged toward the tree line, mentally preparing myself for what was to come next. After I stripped and phased, I walked out the woods with full expectations that Bella would scream her head off.

My biggest worry is that she'd leave me and never talk to me again. This was by far one of the hardest things that I'd ever done, but it was time to come clean.

"Jake?" Bella raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

I didn't want to come too close, and I bowed my head to show my lack of aggression.

Bella was in awe, and I couldn't begin to imagine what she was thinking. I stopped about fifty feet away from her, not knowing what to do next. The cat was out the bag—well…wolf in this case—but I had no idea what to do next.

Bella seemed unafraid when she walked toward my wolf. It seemed like she was in some type of trance, and when she got close enough, she reached out and stroked my fur like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"It's you?" Her voice was full of wonder.

I moved into her touch, encouraging her to relax.

Bella continued to pet me, not saying anything. There wasn't a hint of fear coming from her, and my heart soared knowing that she'd somehow someway accepted me, and all of this.

The need to kiss her was so strong, and I phased on the spot, my naked body replacing the wolf. Bella's eyes grew huge.

She gasped. "It's you!"

Bella raked her eyes up and down my body, and a mischievous grin followed.

"Umm, Bells…my eyes are up here."

* * *

_A/N: So...tell me what you think? Leave and honest review and I'll love you forever and ever and ever! In the meantime, I'll be working on the next installment. Thanks for reading =)_


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